Project: Baby?
by HeartfeltHitokiri
Summary: Ichigo and Orihime are partnered up for a new project. Will they survive parenthood? Not a cliched story, I swear! Update: Nominated "Most Creative" for IchiHime Awards- winners are chosen 9/31, so read and vote please!
1. Chapter 0: The Winter Win

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So yeah... this is my very first Bleach fanfic! I hope it's not too OoC. I tried really hard not to change their character too much, but then the story wouldn't progress smoothly if I didn't! Damn it Ichigo! Grow a pair of balls already! (You'll understand when you read...)

Summary: _Ichigo and Orihime are paired up for a new project. Will they survive parenthood?_

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, but it'd be cool if I did. :D Then I'd make sure that Ichigo and Orihime end up together! :3

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The Winter War was over, Orihime was safely (kind of) returned, and all of Seireitei just HAD to celebrate Christmas Eve at Orihime's place as a victory and a welcome home party. But as suspected, half of the guests were trashed by midnight, causing many complaints from Orihime's neighbors and the eventual dispersion of the party- leaving her to clean up by herself. _What a great way to be welcomed home._

Inoue Orihime thanked everyone for coming to the party they threw for her/themselves as they left, making sure that everyone had a safe way home. By the time the party was over, everyone was either drunken off their ass or just plain tipsy. Even Ishida let his guard down and got drunk with the shinigami he supposedly hated.

"Sado-kun, are you sure he'll be alright?" Orihime asked as Sado supported Ishida while they walked out the door.

"Hey man, I'm right as rain! " Ishida said merrily, wobbling back and forth even when Sado was attempting to stabilize him.

"You ain't 'right as rain,' dumbass." Tatsuki said, trying to stabilize herself with the help of Sado's shoulder. Once Orihime was brought back to the real world, Tatsuki immediately sensed her. She came rushing over to wherever they were, and eventually Ichigo and Orihime told their raven-haired friend everything. Tatsuki wasn't fazed by the truth and merely joined the party. "You're drunk."

"You're sexy!" Ishida replied with an even deeper hue of pink on his cheeks.

"They'll be fine. I'll make sure that they get home safe." Sado said while hoisting Ishida over his shoulder. Tatsuki was more able to walk on her own.

"Okay, good. Thanks Sado-kun." Orihime said as she closed the door behind her. "Tatsuki-chan, you'll be alright… right?"

"Yeah, I'm right as rain! You sure you're gonna be alright cleaning by yourself?" Orihime nodded and assured her friend.

"I can come back over after dropping these two off and help you clean Inoue." Sado offered. Orihime denied his request, telling him it was more important to make sure those two would be fine. With that said, Sado walked down the staircase, Ishida talking with Tatsuki while still over Sado's shoulder. Orihime watched them leave from her balcony.

'_I guess everyone's gone. Ah, I didn't see Kurosaki-kun leave, but then again I didn't see most of the people leave. He probably walked Rukia and Renji home.'_ Orihime smiled to herself recalling the event that began the dispersion. Orihime's neighbors threatened to call the cops, but Rukia and Renji misinterpreted the threat in their drunken state as "_we called the cops_." The two grabbed as much alcohol they could carry and dashed out the door. Only a (semi) faint "Save the booze!!" was heard down the street. Afterwards, a herd of people followed.

Orihime sighed. She turned around and walked towards her door. Clutching the door handle, she stopped and rested her head against the door. _'I guess everything's going to get back to normal now.'_ She sighed once again, thinking about the tedious task ahead. She went inside, scanned the room, and immediately began sorting through the trash- until she heard some rustling.

She jumped at the sound, causing her to fall backwards.

"Oi, Inoue, you okay?" He asked, walking over to her with a trash bag in his hand.

"Kurosaki…kun?" She said surprised, grabbing his hand to help herself up. '_I guess he didn't leave after all.'_ She lightly dusted herself off, fixing her red Santa's helper outfit that Rangiku made her wear. "What are you still doing here, Kurosaki-kun?"

"It's pretty obvious- I'm helping you clean." Ichigo said as he began tossing the random plastic cups, plates, or whatever he came across into the garbage bag. "It's insane that you fit so many people in you apartment. How'd you manage to do that, Inoue?" He seemed strangely chatty, didn't he? But that didn't matter, Orihime started to answer his question with enthusiasm. "Well, Urahara-san put an alternate dimension in that corner- "Then it suddenly hit her. "Ah, Kurosaki-kun! You don't have to help me clean!"

She began waving her arms around frantically. Like that was really going to make him stop…

"Nah, it's fine. " He continued cleaning without even glancing at Orihime. "Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime walked towards Ichigo and reached out for the trash bag. When he wouldn't let go of his grip, she found the courage lightly place her hand on his. "Kurosaki-kun, it's okay. I can clean this by myself. You should probably go home, it's late and-" Ichigo cut her off. He gently took her hand into his and dropped it down by her side.

"And I'm telling you, it's fine. I want to help." Orihime could tell he still had some alcohol in his system since his cheeks were slightly pink. He began cleaning again.

"But Kurosaki-kun, what about your family? You should be with them right now."

"Inoue, it's one in the morning." He stopped cleaning and faced her. "I highly doubt they'd want to spend time with me right now. Besides…I-I don't want you spending Christmas by yourself." Orihime smiled at the sentiment, but began to worry.

"You should rest Kurosaki-kun. I know that you're still, um… intoxicated…? Don't push yourself too hard." Orihime caught a glimpse of a smile on his forever frowning face. "I'll be alright. I've been through worse."

"Ah, fine. But you really should go home afterwards." Orihime gave up and the two commenced clean once again. They chit-chatted about the mischievous mishaps that often occurred during the previous party. As they were almost finished cleaning the huge mess, Orihime found courage once again. "Kurosaki-kun, since it's already so late, why don't you… why don't you…" She felt strange being so forward.

"How about I stay here until morning? I can-"

"Okay! But you should go in the morning though… your family really might worry about you." Ichigo piled all the trash bags into a large heap, which he then lifted into both of his arms. "Alright, I'm gonna throw this out." Orihime opened the door for Ichigo and promptly began preparing for bed when she had her second epiphany for the day. '_Kurosaki-kun and I are going to be sleeping under the same roof…'_ She blushed, but continued straightening her room.

As she fixed her bed on the floor, Tatsuki's words from a _long_ time ago kept running through her mind. _"… when he's walked you to a place where nobody's around, pull him into a dark place and TAKE HIM DOWN!!" _Orihime knew her best friend was joking, but what really disturbed her was what she said next, "_Just grab your breast and he'll be the aggressive one." Would he really be aggressive…?_

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'_Ah crap. I'm sleeping in Inoue's apartment?'_ Ichigo felt heat rise in his cheeks, but quickly waved it away with daunting thoughts of his father's reaction. _'Oh, my son! Sleeping at a girl's apartment at such a young age! So scandalous! You truly are growing into a fine young man!! Aren't you proud Masaki?!"_

Ichigo walked through the front door to Orihime's apartment, noticing that she left it wide open for him. _'Good thing I'm staying the night… (o.o)'_ He silently closed the door and made his way over to her room. "Oi, Inoue-" But before he could finish talking, he became mighty distracted…

_Orihime was changing…_

'_Damn it, this girl leaves her front door wide open, and now she leaves her bedroom door cracked open. It's a miracle that nothings happened to her.' _Ichigo caught a glimpse of Orihime putting on her pajama pants when he backed away from the door. He tried to walk away, but he felt gravitated to watch. Heart pounding in his chest, cheeks becoming flushed, and blood rushing… somewhere, he peeked through the crack once again.

He saw her naked back exposed as she began to slip on her green tank top. It hung loosely around her, but it clung to the right places. She fixed her hair into a high ponytail, showing the low cut of her top. Then she suddenly-

"_Just grab your breast and…" _

Orihime grabbed her breasts. _'Would that really work?' _Ichigo's eyes widened with shock and intrigue, he felt something stir inside of him. He clutched the door, holding his breath, trying not to make a sound. Orihime just starred at them, pouted, and walked towards her closet. She got onto her tiptoes and reached for something on the top shelf, exposing part of her stomach. She struggled, stretching even more, exposing even more. _Knock knock_.

Ichigo barged into the room. "Oi, Inoue." He obviously startled her since she jumped back, tripping over the bed she had just made. Ichigo's quick reflexes allowed him to catch her- or more so have her fall on top of him.

The two of them fell backwards. The futon Orihime had set up cushioned their fall, but the weight of Orihime slightly knocked the wind out of Ichigo- not that he didn't mind, she was on top of him after all. Ichigo felt the warmth of Orihime's skin against his arms, which he unknowingly wrapped around her as they both fell. Clutching at his chest, Orihime slowly opened her eyes. Both their faces were flushed.

Orihime quickly got off of Ichigo, apologizing like mad. "Ah, gomen, gomen nasai Kurosaki-kun! You scared me! I was trying to get those sheets and pillow from the top shelf of my closet." Orihime turned and tried to reach for the items in the closet. "Ahhh, if I was my future self I would just detach my arms and grab them. "

"Oh wait! Kurosaki-kun! Are you okay? I remember that you said I was kind of heavy back in Hueco Mundo, and I did fall on-" A hand grasped Orihime's shoulder as she began to turn to face Ichigo. "-you." Orihime blushed at his touch. _"…he'll be the aggressive one." Did he see? Is that why he barged in? How long was he there? Well, we are _alone_…_ She felt him push his body against her back."Wait, Kurosaki-kun!"

"Wait?" With his hand still on Orihime's shoulder, Ichigo pressed forward, his body against her back, and reached for the sheets and pillow at the top of the closet. "I thought you needed help with these."

"_Aw, come on King. That was the perfect opportunity!" "Shut up, shut up, shut up! I'm not that kind of guy!" "You pussy, it's perfect! We're all alone, she wearing that thin little thing she calls a night dress, and you've got stamina like no other! Once your finished with her, give me a try!" _With the last comment, Ichigo quickly suppressed his inner hollow.

Orihime sighed a breath of relief. _"Darn my naughty mind! I blame Tatsuki-chan for corrupting it! I guess he really didn't see. And if he did, then he really is a gentleman- or my prince charming! " _Orihime smiled, suppressing her laugh.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun." She reached out for the sheets that Ichigo quickly denied her of. "These were meant for me, right? So I can make my own bed on your couch."

"Wha? " was all that Orihime said with a confused look on her face.

"I'm going to sleep on the couch."

"Wha?" She said again. "No, I'm going to sleep on the couch. You're my guest, so-"

"So, what? You want me to sleep in your bed?"

"Well, yeah! You are my guest; I can't have you sleeping on the couch!"

"Why not?! I can't take over your bed."

"Argh. Fine." Orihime pouted. She knew Ichigo well enough to know that once he set his mind on something, nothing's going to change it. "At least let me set up your bed."

"No. It's okay." Ichigo said, already out of her room, making his 'bed.' "Oi, Inoue. Out of curiosity, where did Rangiku-san and Toshiro sleep?" Orihime, who moved from her room to the living room, sat by the table in front of the couch. She rested her arms and head on the table while watching Ichigo.

"Rangiku-san slept in my room with me. She was my guest and she slept in my bed." Orihime pouted, trying to convince Ichigo to sleep in her futon instead of the couch once again. Ichigo ignored it and sat on the couch. "Toshiro-kun didn't really sleep here; he kind of stayed on the roof! I offered him my reversible sleeping bag, but he refused 'cause he wanted me to use it instead of sleeping on the ground. It's really neat though!" Orihime dazed off, mouth open, thinking about her reversible sleeping bag and the joke she played on Tatsuki.

"Why didn't he -or you for that matter- sleep on this couch?" Ichigo asked confused. He knew that this girl's logic was a bit off, but it was common sense- three people and three things to sleep on/in, so why didn't she add it up?

"Huh? It's not my couch. Tatsuki-chan let me borrow it for the party! It normally goes in her room, but she thought it would be nice to have the guests sit on a couch instead of the floor. So here it is! I can't have a lot of really big furniture since I move a lot! Otherwise, I'd have a bed like yours instead of that futon! It's so squishy- it's nice, but it's too squishy sometimes, you know? Hmm…" Orihime mind began to wander. _'I kind of liked that gigantic couch they gave me in Hueco Mundo…"_

"Wait, how do you know what my bed looks like?" Ichigo asked, staring at the daydreaming girl in front of him. Orihime blushed. "Well, before I went to Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra said that I was allowed to say good-bye to only one person, so I came to see you," she said, attempting to bury her blushing face in her arms," I followed Tatsuki-chan around all day, and I wanted to say good-bye to everyone before I left. But, I just wanted to see yo-"

"Is that why my hand was healed?" Ichigo asked curiously, unknowingly cutting Orihime's confession short.

"Eh? I healed your hand?" Her head perked up from her arm cocoon. "What, you didn't mean to?" Ichigo slid down the couch, onto the floor, as he asked her. He leaned against the couch with his hands behind his head, waiting for his answer. "No, I didn't. That's strange. I didn't call Ayame and Shuno out. So I wonder how I…" Orihime brought her hand up to her chin and thought hard. Ichigo patiently watched her think. "When I woke up the next morning, I felt your reiatsu on my hand, so I knew it was you-"

Orihime suddenly gasped. Mouth agape, she placed her fist into the palm of her other hand emphasizing the fact she had her third epiphany of the day. _(Yay!)_

Startled, Ichigo asked, "You remember now?"

"Yeah!" Orihime replied enthusiastically. "So how'd you do it?"

Orihime's excited face suddenly dropped and turned a bright shade of red. "Oh goodness, look at the time!" She got up. "You should be sleeping now, since you're going to be waking up early in the morning! Good night Kurosaki-kun!!" And she dashed into her room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

"O-kay…" Ichigo was left there, stunned. _Should I go in there and ask her? (Inner hollow: Yes!) Was it really that embarrassing? _Deciding to leave it be, but still thinking about it all the same, Ichigo crawled into his 'bed' and attempted to fall asleep.

"_Oh no, that was too embarrassing!" _Orihime hid herself under her comforter. _"I hope he doesn't think that was weird… Ah, I almost forgot!" _She got out from under her covers and knelt before her brother's photograph. She said as softly as she could, "Merry Christmas, Onii-chan. I'm glad that this year, I wasn't alone." Orihime looked at the clock; it was already four in the morning. She crawled back into her futon and quickly fell asleep.

Ichigo watched Orihime through the crack she left open. _"If only he knew I was the one keeping her company, then he really would kill me." _Ichigo lay on his bad, eyes fixed on the lump in Orihime's futon. _"Now, what should I do with _this…_" _He looked down, but quickly turned onto his side. _"I'll give it to her in the morning…"_

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6:00 am- Two hours later…

Orihime silently slid out of her bedroom.

She crept towards her refrigerator and, as quietly as she could, took out a few things: strawberries, whipped cream… etc. After getting some other materials, she went back into her room, making sure Ichigo didn't wake up.

Once she was finished mixing up her concoction, Orihime entered her living room once again. She placed the bowl onto the counter, glancing at Ichigo who still hasn't wakened up. She tiptoed her way over to him. His sheets had fallen on the ground- only a throw pillow was on his stomach keeping him warm. Orihime picked up the sheets, and slid them back over Ichigo.

He gave a satisfied grin in his sleep.

She smiled- his face wasn't so funny after all. "_He matured a lot over the past couple of months, in more ways than one." _Orihime tiptoed her way back to the counter, and began cooking.

Ichigo slowly fazed out of his dream. He smelt something delicious in the air. _Flick flick flick_. His senses began to return to normal as he opened his eyes. Orihime was standing by the counter, slicing up some strawberries, glancing at the pan next to her every once in a while.

"_Inoue's cooking…?"_ Ichigo sat up. _"Oh my God, Inoue's cooking!?"_

Orihime heard his rustling. "Good morning, Kurosaki-kun! I hope I didn't wake you up!" Ichigo sat there, watching her cook. "I made us breakfast!" Ichigo's heart stopped. _"Oh no, not one of her crazy recipes! But then again, it smells pretty good…"_

He got up, fixing and folding his sheets. "What are you making?" he asked nervously.

"Pancakes! I saw it on the T.V. the other day! So I decided to make some for us." _She was making something…normal?_ "I put some red bean paste in the batter!" Ichigo's heart sank and his stomach churned. "But don't worry, I only put it in my batch."

Ichigo got all his stuff and put it in Orihime's closet, noticing she already put up her futon. By the time he came back, she already had everything plated and set on the table. He sat down in front of her. On his plate was a stack of pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream arranged to look like Santa Claus.

"I hope it tastes alright!"

Ichigo apprehensively took a bite. And surely enough, it was delicious. The two quietly ate breakfast, unsure of how to break the tension from their last conversation. When they were finished eating, Orihime silently stacked their plates. She put her hair into a ponytail again and began washing the dishes.

"Oi, Inoue. Want me to put the table back into your room?" Ichigo felt kind of useless sitting there not doing anything, not even talking to his generous host. Orihime glanced at him with a smile. "Sure! Thank you, Kurosaki-kun!"

When he was finished with his simple task, she was already done with hers. "I guess I'll go now. It's already eight o' clock, and Yuzu and Karin are probably already awake." He began to head out the door. Orihime nodded her head and followed him.

Once out onto the balcony, Ichigo turned to face Orihime. "Um, thanks for letting me stay here tonight, Inoue." He said while looking down and scratching the back of his head. Orihime blushed. "Anytime, Kurosaki-kun. Thank you for keeping me company!" _Then there it was again, that awkward silence…_

"Ah! Look Kurosaki-kun! It's snowing! " The two walked over to the railing, poking their heads out to feel the snow on their faces. Ichigo pulled back and looked at the easily entertained Orihime. She noticed he was looking at her and smiled. He outstretched his hand. Ichigo wiped away the snow on top of her head, making her blush even more.

"Merry Christmas, Inoue."

"Merry Christmas, Kurosaki-kun."

With that, he turned away and walked home. Orihime watched as he left. Sighing when she went back into her empty apartment, Orihime kept replaying that night over in her head. She plopped onto the couch with Ichigo's warmth still present. She snuggled up to the pillow he was holding, and fell back asleep for a moment.

Knowing what the day had in store for her, she unwillingly got up from her comfortable spot. She stretched her arms over her head in an attempt to wake her up some more as she walked into her room.

On the table in her room was a gift bag with a small note inside.

_Merry Christmas Inoue_

_-Ichigo_

That's all it said.

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What was in the gift bag, I wonder? You'll find out next chapter!

But man this chapter was uberly long! I wanted to make a really really short prologue, but it ended up being kind of like a one-shot! Granted, if it was a one-shot, I would have put more fluff in there! I and hope someone caught the dialouge from Family Guy. XD I had to throw that in there.

On with the story and review if you like. :D

**Next Chapter: _Breaking the News_**

_It's valentine's day. Will Orihime have the courage to tell Ichigo how she feels? Or will their new project just get in the way?_


	2. Chapter 1: Breaking the News

Hi everyone! I'm really quite surprised the reaction to this story. I'm glad you guys liked it! :D But this story is the longest one I've written so far. There are more words in these two chapters than there are in one of my five chapter stories! WTF!? Bah. I don't think the future chapters are going to be as long though, so sorry about that!

I thank everyone who read and even reviewed this story.

And for those who didn't catch the Family Guy reference, it was in the very beginning between Tatsuki and Ishida. XD

_Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach... but I'd like to..._

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One and a half months later- February 14**th****- Valentine's Day**

The door to class 1-3 slid open.

Kurosaki Ichigo stepped through, scanning the room. Instinctively, he drew his hand into a fist and-

"IIIIIIII-CHHHHHHHIIIIIIIII-GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

-knocked Keigo out cold. "'Sup?"

"Ah, Asano-san, you'd think that you would have learned by now, not to greet Ichigo like that." Mizuiro said as he stepped on Keigo's head. "Mornin' Ichigo!"

Ichigo greeted him back. Although he didn't really enjoy Keigo's antics at times, Ichigo was glad that his "not-as-spiritually-in-tune" friends still acted normal around him. Since his return from Hueco Mundo, Ichigo's closest friends finally learned the truth: that he was a Shinigami, fighting the forces of EVIL! They accepted it, and just said that some things made sense now.

"Oi, Ichigo!"

The orange-haired teenager turned to see who called his name. Tatsuki waved to him. She was by Orihime's seat with Ishida and Chad. "Oi, morning!" Ichigo said as he walked over to his "more-spiritually-in-tune" friends, placing his bag on his desk while passing it by. Tatsuki grinned when he finally joined their group.

"So did you get any chocolates yet?"

"Chocolate? Oh yeah, I forgot. It's Valentine's Day." Ichigo covered his face with the palm of his hand, as if he was dreading this day. He ran his hand through his spiky hair. "I don't get chocolates, girls are afraid of me." He frowned.

"Maybe you'd get some if you smiled every once in a while, Kurosaki." Ishida said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Ichigo grunted. "You're one to talk, Ishida. You're as gloomy as I am."

As they were about to begin their verbal fight, Tatsuki stepped between the two, facing Ichigo. "As much as I'd love to see you two kill each other, I was wondering if you've seen Orihime yet." Tatsuki moved her arms behind her back, her hands holding a bag of chocolates. Ichida slyly took the bag and put it in his pocket, making a mental note to take it out before it melts. "She's normally not late like this." Tatsuki said once the bag was removed.

Just then, Orihime walked through the door. Instead of her usual cheery greeting to everyone, she was bogged down by numerous amounts of goody bags and the maker of the chocolates, Chizuru, herself. "Oh, Hime!" Chizuru said, clinging to the poor girl. Chizuru stepped behind Orihime and gave her enormous breasts as nice squeeze. "Perky as ever aren't you?"

"Perky as ever aren't _you_?!" Tatsuki yelled as she gave Chizuru a right hook.

Once the obsessive lesbian was off her back, Orihime gave a huge sigh of relief and greeted her best friend. Tatsuki allowed Orihime to settle into her desk before interrogating her. "Where were you? You're normally one of the first people here."

"Oh! Well, I went to the convenience store to pick up some pictures! I've been so busy lately trying to catch up with my school work I haven't been able to get the Christmas party pics developed! I've finally caught up, so here they are!" She excitedly took out the packet of photos and with Tatsuki, Ichigo, Ishida, and Sado surrounding her, she shuffled through them.

Orihime's excited face soon turned into confusion.

"Huh?! How did this happen?!" she said flipping through the photos faster. Chizuru somehow sneaked up on the pack and looked at the pictures. "Wow, 'Hime. You're kind of bad with a camera aren't you? Well, that's going to be a problem for the home videos we'll be maki-" Tatsuki and Ichigo gave a swift kick to Chizuru's head and stomach.

"Oi, Ichigo! I understand _her_ hitting me, but what's your deal?! You can't hit a girl!"

"You aren't a normal girl!!" Ichigo retorted.

Chizuru huffed as she walked away, feeling the complete rejection. The group turned their attention back to the photos. In almost every picture, half the people that were supposed to be in it… weren't. "How'd this happen?" Orihime groaned with her happiness now depleted.

"Look closely." Ishida said, pointing to the pictures.

Next to the people present were tiny discolorations in the photos, looking like orbs. "I get it now…" Ichigo said. "Half the people at the party weren't even in a gigai, so there's no way they'd show up in pictures." Orihime sighed. "Aww, I wanted to put these pictures into that picture frame you gave me, Kurosaki-kun!"

Ichigo made a surprised face. "Really? That was kind of meant for your brother, so then you'd have pictures of the two of you together on his altar."

"My brother and I couldn't afford to have photos taken or even have a camera for that matter. So, we don't have many pictures together. I thought it'd be nice to have a frame filled with pictures of my friends instead." She explained. Orihime gave a brief smile, but she squished her face together with the palms of her hands and pouted. "But now that's ruined too…"

"That's not true, you gotta have some decent pictures in there." Ichigo said, taking the pictures into his hands. He flipped through them, Orihime by his side. Leaving Ichigo to console her best friend, Tatsuki signaled for the others to follow her lead. As they slowly began to walk away from the pair, Ichigo called out to them.

"Hey, when was this?" He held up a photo containing the Orihime, Tatsuki, Ishida, and Sado attempting to fit into the single frame. Orihime looked at it. "Oh, this was on Christmas day. Tatsuki-chan, Ishida-kun, and Sado-kun came over to help carry the couch back over to Tatsuki-chan's house. But, they ended up staying over, and we had our own celebration!" She smiled merrily.

Suddenly, Ichigo felt left out. _Where the fuck was I?_ He furrowed his brow, but before Orihime could ask what was wrong, their homeroom teacher, Ochi-sensei, walked in. Everyone returned to their seats, Orihime glanced at Ichigo as he walked away.

"Good morning class! I have special news for you guys!" She said, slamming her briefcase onto her desk. "You all have been selected to try out a new product!" Ochi-sensei gave an evil grin. "You will become parents for the next month."

A wave of silence flowed through the room; but that was the calm before the storm. "What do you mean we'll be parents?!" some students shouted. "Calm down, everyone. Sheesh. Let me explain before you open your mouths."

It became silent once again, only with an unfathomable tension in the air.

"It's simple really," their teacher began, "you all have been selected to test out a new product: a baby dummy. You all know that for home-ec you take care of a bag of flour, an egg, or some doll for a week or so to test your abilities as a parent and to help prepare you for your future children. I don't know the details, but there's been a breakthrough where this doll becomes very life-like. It will be your baby."

"You will partner up, boy-girl, and take care of this doll for an entire month." Ochi-sensei knew that the class would act up again. "I know it's long, but like with all parents, it takes time getting used to taking care of a baby. Frankly, a week is too short to accurately judge your capabilities as parents. A month is too short in my opinion, but whatever. The entire faculty has already met and discussed this new project, and we all agreed to lighten the school load."

The class cheered.

"Hold on a second, don't think you can slack off. You will still go to school, have homework, and take tests- it will be _slightly_ easier now. But think of it this way, teen pregnancy is running rampant, so it will be a lesson to you all on how important it is to have safe sex."

The class groaned. _Not another one of those 'underlying' lessons…_

"Okay! Choose your partners and I'll explain the rest and pass them out to you guys."

The class suddenly hustled, guys trying to get with girls they liked, girls trying to get with guys they liked… it was a madhouse.

"_Ah, shit. Who am I gonna be with?_" Ichigo glanced over to the empty desk next to him. _"Damn, I would have asked Rukia. She is over a hundred years old, she's gotta know how to take care of a baby."_ Ichigo scanned the room. _"Tatsuki!"_ He ran over to her. "Tatsuki! You have a par-" Tatsuki turned around with Ishida behind her. "She's my partner, Kurosaki."

"_Damn it!"_ Ichigo quickly scanned the room again. _"Inoue!"_ There she was sitting idly by as multiple guys asked her to be their partners. Filled with a sudden feeling of annoyance, Ichigo walked briskly towards Orihime. He pushed and shoved his male classmates out of the way. "Oi, Inoue!" Orihime's head perked up. "Kurosaki-kun?" she said, staring at him with big brown, hopeful eyes. "Will you be my partner?" He shouted over his classmate's protests.

Orihime gave a bright smile. "Sure!"

His male classmates, including Keigo, turned and glared at Ichigo. They huffed and protested, but walked away to find other girls to be partnered up with. Orihime remained seated in her desk while Ichigo stood in front of her, leaning against the window. They waited for the rest of the class to be pair up.

"Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo shifted his serious stare from the front of the class to Orihime. "Hmm?"

Orihime stared at him with curious eyes. "Why- why did you… you looked mad earlier. Did I do anything to upset you?" Ichigo was baffled. Like Orihime could ever make him mad. He became frustrated at times with her freakishly kind nature, but even that amazed him.

"Nah. I'm not mad or anything. I just felt kind of left out. You guys had another Christmas party without me." He said, shifting his gaze from Orihime to wherever- just so he couldn't see her saddened expression. Orihime looked down. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun. I thought you wanted to be with your family considering how quickly you left." She began to twirl her fingers on her desk. "They came over, and Sado-kun doesn't have much family like me, Ishida-kun isn't on great terms with his father, and Tatsuki-chan… Tatsuki-chan _is_ family."

Ichigo suddenly felt guilty. _"Great job, King. You upset her."_

"You don't have to apologize, Inoue. Don't worry. It's no big deal." Ichigo felt a little better when she smiled again.

"Alright! Every partnered up?! Good. I have a little more to explain before I give you your 'babies'. First, you can take you baby to school or you can leave them with someone you trust while you are at school or at work." Ochi-sensei knew what the cunning students were already thinking.

"That doesn't mean you can leave them with another person the entire time, and pay them. These dolls are highly advanced- they know when their 'parents' are holding them. If you, your partner, or the two of you aren't taking care of them for the majority of the time, we will take a substantial amount of points from your overall grade. Is that understood?"

The class gave a heavy "Yes ma'am…"

"Alright then. Like normal babies, you will have to feed them, burp them, change them, and even bathe them. These things are so life-like, it's scary; but these babies aren't like newborns though, they will be in the seven months stage. Meaning, they respond to their names, hold their own bottles, and even crawl with time. From now until the end of the project, you will be sitting next to your partners. Okay, that should be all. Line up in pairs so we can pass out the proper equipment, but wait for my instructions before doing anything."

The pairs lined up. Once Ichigo and Orihime got their doll and other equipment, they went back to Orihime's seat.

"Hey, Kurosaki-kun…?"

"Yeah, Inoue?"

"Isn't this…"

"…a gigai?"

"And a modified soul?"

"Yup."

Ichigo picked up the gigai. _"Yup, it's definitely from _that_ guy."_ Orihime gestured to Ichigo to hand the gigai over. "Why would Urahara-san make… this?" Well, that guy was pretty strange.

Once the entire class received their 'babies,' Ochi-sensei began speaking again.

"Everyone got a doll, right? Alright. To activate your baby, take this gumball shaped thing," the teacher picked up the modified soul," and just stick it in the doll's mouth. You could do just that, and your baby will look exactly like the doll. Now here's the neat part: if you put a strand of your hair and your partner's hair in at the same time as this gumball thing, the doll will morph into what your baby will actually look like if you had one in real life. "

Orihime's eyes widened. "Cool!" She said under her breath. She listened intently to the teacher. Ichigo heard her comment and smiled at her fascination with the morphing features of the doll.

"I know that some of you have very special plans for tonight, so you can activate it tomorrow. But, for those of you who wish to do it today, at the end of the day, do as I have instructed. I will return to this class, and make note of your group, what your baby's name is, and when you began. And if you start tomorrow, same thing: I'll be here. Okay? On with class!"

Ichigo took the seat next to Orihime's as their teacher began the lesson. "Oi, Inoue. Do you have any plans tonight?" He asked curiously. "No, do you?" Slightly relieved, he answered her question. "Nope. Want to start the project today then?" He propped his chin into his left hand, slightly covering his mouth.

"Sure!" She smiled, and then resumed listening to the teacher- or more like daydreaming about her future children. Ichigo grinned for a moment, his hand hiding his expression, and shifted his focus to the lesson.

At the end of the day, the pairs that had no spectacular plans for that evening remained in class 1-3. Strangely enough, Tatsuki and Ishida _weren't_ there. Ochi-sensei came into classroom. "Alright! Do as I told you this morning!" She said as she took out a notebook and pen.

Ichigo and Orihime placed their doll onto the desk. "Kurosaki-kun, do you want to…" Orihime looked up at Ichigo who was already plucking a strand of hair out. She beamed. "So you do want to make it our baby!" Orihime joked. "Well, I heard you say 'cool' when the teach explained how to do it, so I thought you'd want to."

"Yay!" Orihime plucked out a hair, and the two inserted the gumball and their hairs into the gigai. The doll immediately morphed into a baby girl with Orihime's eyes, Ichigo's mouth, and blazing orange hair. "Huh, where'd the curly hair come from?" The two examined their baby wide-eyed, their baby giving back the same expression.

"It's from my mom." Ichigo said softly. "But doesn't our baby remind you of…"

"-of Nell Tu? I was thinking the same thing!" Their baby giggled and outstretched her arms to grab Orihime's hair. She yanked at it. "Itami!! It hurts!" Orihime yelled. Their baby girl outstretched her arms again. "I think she wants you to hold her, Inoue." Orihime picked her up nervously, head still throbbing from the hair pulling.

"So what should we name her?" Ichigo asked as Orihime bounced the baby in her arms.

"Well, since she looks like Nell Tu, why not name her that?"

"You want to use her full name? Neliel Tu Oderschvank?" Their baby reached for Ichigo.

"Well, maybe we can change it a little bit, but her nickname will still be Nell!" Orihime passed their baby to Ichigo. "Okay then, I'll leave the name up to you. Let's go 'register' her." They walked to the teacher.

"So Kurosaki Ichigo and Inoue Orihime, huh?" She said, scribbling into her notebook. "I thought you'd have a date tonight, Inoue, but whatever! What's you baby's name?" Ichigo and Ochi-sensei looked at Orihime.

"It's Nelyasviel Tuderschvank!" Orihime said excitedly.

Ichigo, the teacher, and even the baby raised an eyebrow. Orihime just smiled and giggled. "O-kay then, Nelyasviel Tuderschvank Kurosaki. Or do you want it to be Kurosaki-Inoue?" Ichigo looked at the blushing Orihime. "Which one do you want, Inoue? Either way it has my name, so it doesn't matter to me."

"Kurosaki is fine." She said softly, blushing even harder.

"Okay, Nelyasviel Tuderschvank Kurosaki, it is. Congratulations! You two are now parents of you healthy baby girl!"

It was the beginning of Day One.

* * *

"Up, up… and away! Up, up… and away!" Orihime bounced Nell in her arms and then suddenly lifted her over her head as she and Ichigo walked home. "You're really enjoying yourself, aren't you?" Ichigo said, walking with his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, but look! She's so cute she smiles!" Orihime bounced Nell and lifted her over her head again. Ichigo grinned at the two.

"Thank you for walking me home, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime said, still preoccupied with Nell.

"No problem. Your new apartment is on my way home, so it's not that big of a deal." He replied. "I told you I moved a lot!" Orihime finally stopped bouncing the baby. Nell rested her head on her mom's shoulder, looking towards her dad. "Good, she's calming down now." Ichigo said as he let Nell grab his finger. "You know… Nell smiles a lot for a baby that has your mouth." Orihime joked. "I smiled a lot when I was a kid."

"Hey Kurosaki-kun, do you think you'll be a good dad?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow to her question. "I mean, you helped raise your sisters when you were younger, didn't you?"

"Oh. No, not really. They're only three years younger than I am, so I kind of just watched my parents take care of them. They said I was too young to hold them when they were first born. I don't think just watching helps me be a better parent. "

"Oh, 'cause I've never taken care of a baby before. I thought it might be easier with you since you have younger siblings." They stopped walking. "We're already here! Do you want to come up, Kurosaki-kun? We can talk about who's going to have Nell when and stuff." Orihime said with her ever present smile. "Sure."

They walked up the stairs and stopped in front of Orihime's apartment. Ichigo stood waiting for Orihime to open the door. "Psst, Kurosaki-kun. The key is in my bag." Ichigo forgot that he was holding both their school bags since Orihime held Nell entire time.

He unlocked the door and they walked inside. "It looks just like your other apartment." Ichigo dropped their bags onto the floor. "Yeah, I liked that one, but this one's closer to school and it's a bit cheaper!" Orihime said balancing Nell on her left side and making tea with her right.

"Do you need he-"

Before Ichigo could finish his question, his Shinigami representative badge went off. "Crap." Ichigo took it out and thrust it onto his chest. His body and soul separated. "Oi, Inoue, take care of my body will ya?"

"Roger dodger!" And Ichigo went to fight the hollow.

About half an hour later, Ichigo returned. _"Damn, that guy! He has no right to be a Shinigami! He keeps getting in my way!"_ Ichigo furrowed his brow, thinking about the Shinigami stationed in Karakura Town. _"He sees me every time there's a hollow, and he still questions my substitute shinigami status!!"_ Ichigo grasped his right arm. He was wounded in the fight, protecting the other Shinigami.

As he neared Orihime's apartment, Ichigo noticed her bedroom window was left open for him. He jumped onto the balcony, and climbed through the window. Inside was a sight to be seen.

Orihime, still in her school uniform, was fast asleep on the ground _next_ to her futon. In the futon were Ichigo's body and Nell, who was sleeping soundly. There lay his body supine, his right arm moved out from his body serving as a pillow for his daughter. Orihime slept on her side, left arm as her pillow, right arm near Nell who was clutching onto her mother's hand. _They looked like a family._

Ichigo, at first uncertain what to do, slipped back into his body. When completely integrated, body and soul, Ichigo suppressed a groan of pain. He could feel the gash reopening. Ichigo carefully replaced his arm for a real pillow under Nell's head. Once Nell appeared comfortable, Ichigo as silently as he could took his long-sleeved shirt off. It was already permeated with blood.

Ichigo stared at his bicep. The thin line of crimson split into two causing blood to trickle out. He bit his lip. _It hurts way more when I'm in my real body…_ As his wound began to numb again, Nell began to stir.

She cried. Ichigo quickly picked her up and took her into the other room in order to keep Orihime from waking up. Ichigo held Nell with his left arm, his right supporting and rubbing his baby's back in an attempt to soothe her. With his right arm in more pain from the constant flexing, Ichigo rocked Nell side to side while trying to hush her cries.

Nell calmed down, and fell back asleep on Ichigo's shoulder.

He continued to rock her, blood staining his shirt. Suddenly, Orihime's bedroom door slid open. She dashed out with a frightened look on her face. When she saw that Nell was fast asleep on Ichigo's shoulder, she gave a huge sigh of relief, putting her hand to her chest.

Orihime looked up at Ichigo. In order to keep Nell from waking, Orihime signaled to Ichigo asking if his arm was okay. He nodded once, but gestured her to come over and heal it. Once his wound was healed, Orihime tugged at his shirt, particularly at the blood stains. Ichigo just nodded again and shifted Nell around to unbutton his shirt.

When he couldn't do it without waking Nell up, he looked over to Orihime. She understood what he looked at her for and blushed. Heart pounding her chest, Orihime reached for the buttons on Ichigo's shirt. Slowly, but surely, Orihime completely unbuttoned Ichigo's shirt. She looked up at his when she was finished.

He gestured her to finish the job.

Orihime lightly held onto the right side of Ichigo's collar. She began to slide off his shirt, but she was soon met with resistance from his shoulder. Blushing harder, ears turning red, Orihime placed a hand in his shirt. She slowly pushed his button-up shirt off of his right shoulder in a swift action. Ichigo, with half a shirt on, shifted Nell so that he was supporting her on his right side. Orihime slid his shirt off of his left shoulder as quickly as she could. She dashed into her room, picked up his yellow over shirt, and went to her laundry room. She hid her face, which was a bright red, the entire time.

Ichigo stood in Orihime's apartment, shirtless, holding their baby. _This was one Valentine's Day he would never forget._

He walked over to the window above the sink. The sun was slowly setting and the entire sky had a hint of pink and orange. Ichigo looked down at the sink. It was noticeably full of baking materials. He would have examined it more, but Orihime returned to the living room quicker than he anticipated. In her hands were his clean shirts. Nell woke up from the sudden spinning action.

Nell noticed her mom and reached for her. Ichigo and Orihime exchanged what they were holding. "That was fast." Ichigo commented as he put his shirts back on. Orihime smiled. "I was going to soak it, but then I thought that I could use my Sōten Kisshun on it and reject the blood from staining it!" She felt so proud of herself. :D

"I see, so what in the world were you cooking?" Ichigo asked, pointing towards the sink. "Oh, I was baking stuff for Valentine's Day." Orihime replied, bouncing the baby, trying to avoid the topic.

"You made chocolates?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Kind of, I made chocolate covered strawberries when everything else didn't work out." She stopped facing Ichigo in order to hide her face and played with Nell. Slightly annoyed because he felt like he was being ignored, Ichigo continued to question Orihime. "So who were they for?" Orihime made a face. _Should she tell him the truth?_

"They were for some guy, but I couldn't give it to him."

"Why couldn't you give it to him?"

Orihime bit her lip and sighed. "I don't know. " She lied. Ichigo took the hint; feeling even more annoyed, he stopped interrogating her. He decided to change the subject. "So what are we going to do with Nell?" He sat at the table. Orihime joined him, placing Nell in sitting position on the table facing Ichigo.

"I can take her for tonight."

"I'll take her tomorrow then."

"What about your Shinigami duties? You can't take her with you and you can't just leave her alone. I don't know if you can trust Kon with her either…"

"That's true, and I can't keep explaining to my family why they have to suddenly take care of her."

"So what are we going to do? You're going to have to interact with Nell half of the time or more in order to get credit."

"Well, I could…" Ichigo blushed.

"You could live here for the month." Orihime finished his sentence, blushing as well.

"But where would I stay? Someone needs to be in the same room as Nell at all times, so even if I did stay here it wouldn't work since only my body would be here…"

"You could stay in my room-"

"But it's the same thin-"

"-with me."

Orihime finished her sentence, face completely red, looking downwards. "That way you could still obtain the necessary interaction, and when you do leave to fight hollows in the middle of the night, I'll still be there to take care of Nell. It's the most logical solution."

Ichigo sat there, surprised at Orihime's suggestion. He thought for a moment; she was right. It was the best way to be by Nell at all times and he wouldn't have to explain much to his family… except for the fact that he now had a baby and was going to live at the mother's apartment for a month. _Great._

"Alright then, I guess I'll be living here for the next month, Inoue." Ichigo agreed with Orihime's suggestion. "I'm going to go home really quick, I need to pack my stuff and talk to my family." Ichigo crossed his arms and furrowed his brow, thinking of a way to explain everything.

"I'll go with you."

Ichigo looked up from his concentrated state. "What?" Orihime got up and held Nell. "I'll go with you, it'll be easier to explain to your family, and that way we could see if your dad saved any of your old baby stuff. We're going to need clothes, a crib, a stroller, a baby carrying thingy…"

"Alright, alright. You're coming with me." Ichigo sighed. _"How do these things keep happening to me?"_

* * *

"I'm home." He said as he opened the door. "You're late!" Ichigo was greeted with a swift kick to the face. "You punk of a son! You know our dinner time is at seven o clock every night!" Isshin said, hands on his hips, claiming victory. "Damn you! It's only seven-thirty! Besides, is that how you greet your son, especially when he's brought a guest over?!" Isshin looked over his son's shoulder.

Orihime stood at the front door, not knowing if she should enter or not.

"Orihime-chan!" Isshin exclaimed with his demeanor completely changed. "How nice of you to come here with this punk!" Isshin slapped his son's shoulder. Yuzu and Karin watched their brother's reaction while eating. Ichigo's dad came closer to Orihime, but came to a sudden halt. "What's that?" he said quietly. Yuzu and Karin, who couldn't see beyond the door, stood up to see what their dad was making a fuss about.

"Is that a b-b-b-b-b-BABY!?" Isshin nearly fainted. Yuzu and Karin gasped as if they were watching a drama.

"That can't be yours, can it?!" Isshin quickly approached Orihime, with a surprisingly calm look on her face. She appeared a little uncomfortable with Isshin's closeness. Ichigo stood at the door way, hand to his forehead. He figured he'd let his dad get the drama out of his system, he didn't feel like arguing with him today. "Why does this baby look like Ichigo?"

Isshin gestured for Orihime to hand Nell over. She apprehensively did. Isshin held Nell with care, but walked over to his son. "This baby can't be _yours_, can it?!" Yuzu and Karin gasped after seeing the baby who looked like Ichigo and Orihime, and they watched the drama more intently. Ichigo uncovered his face and gestured for Orihime to come inside. Isshin surprisingly waited patiently for his son to answer, handing Nell over as Orihime passed by. Once she was by his side, Ichigo finally answered.

"Yes, she's mine. "

Isshin keeled over onto his knees, Yuzu fainted, and Karin choked on she was eating. "But, it's not what you think, old man!" Ichigo walked over to his dad and, with his foot, made his dad sit up. Isshin was crying. "Masaki!!" He went over to the poster on the wall. "Our son has a baby girl with the lovely Orihime! Aren't you proud?! This punk turned out to decent!"

Ichigo punched his father on the back of his head. "Oi, Ichi-nii, is that why you've been gone so much lately? You were out taking care of your pregnant girlfriend?" Karin teased, knowing the truth behind his disappearances. "Orihime, come and eat." Karin waved her over. Yuzu, who regained consciousness, served Orihime a bowl of rice as she walked over to the table with Nell. "So you're my Onee-san now? Welcome to the family!"

"I told you, it's not what you think! The baby's for a school project, dumbasses! We have to take care of a baby for a month, so I'll be staying at Inoue's apartment, alright?! I'll be in my room!" Ichigo stormed off. "Geez, Ichi-nii sure has gotten mean since he entered high school. "

When Ichigo was almost finished packing, he heard a soft knock on the door. "Come in." He already knew who it was. "I'm almost finished, Inoue." He said shoving some more clothes into a bag.

"No rush, Kurosaki-kun. You're family's so nice!" Orihime said enthusiastically as she played with Nell. "You think so?! They drive me insane! You can sit down by the way." Orihime plopped onto the ground, playing with Nell even more. "I meant you can sit on my bed." Orihime stopped her game of peek-a-boo, and nervously sat on Ichigo's bed.

"Orrrriiihiiiiiimeeee-chaaaaaaan!!" Catching both Ichigo and Orihime off-guard, Kon successfully buried his face into the Valley of the Gods. Irritated, Ichigo peeled Kon off of Orihime's bosom, unknowingly brushing the tips of his fingers against them. Orihime clutched onto Nell, protecting her chest. "Kon! You wanna play?" Ichigo squeezed Kon with a vein bulging on his forehead. "Yuzu!" He called out. "I found Bostov!!"

Yuzu came in and grasped onto Kon. "He looks dirty, clean him up nice, will you?" Ichigo said smirking. Yuzu squealed with joy to have her beloved Bostov back.

Ichigo turned to Orihime. "You alright, Inoue? You look kind of flushed." Orihime was blushing from their previous contact. "I'm fine," she said, nodding, "I explained everything to your family, and your dad said it was alright if you stayed at my house. He even offered to take care of Nell sometimes!"

"Really?" Ichigo was surprised. "What'd you tell them?"

"Oh, I just said that it'd be easier if you stayed at my place, in a different room. That way, they wouldn't be bothered by the baby, and it was the best way for us to get an 'A' for the project." Orihime smiled. "Your dad said he had some of Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan's old baby clothes and an old crib. The crib even has wheels so we can just push it to my apartment! So everything's settled!"

"Yeah, I guess so." Ichigo said, rolling up a futon and placing it into another bag. "I'm finished, let's go back to your apartment?" Orihime nodded, picked up Nell and the happy family went on their merry way.

* * *

When they got back to Orihime's apartment, Orihime warmed up the dinner Yuzu packed up for the two of them. Apparently Tatsuki told Yuzu all about Orihime's cooking. Ichigo's younger sister told Orihime to come over once in a while and eat dinner with them.

After they ate and fed Nell, Ichigo watched over the baby while Orihime did the dishes. "Is it alright if I take a bath, Inoue?" Ichigo asked when she was finished. "Sure! Can you take Nell in too?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Sure, but wouldn't it be better if she went in with you? I mean… you're both, you know… female." He said, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, but I take my baths in the morning. It helps wake me up. We won't have enough time in the morning, so-"

"Okay, I'll do it."

Ichigo took a bath with Nell. _"This is so… weird."_ He thought, splashing his face with the warm water, Nell at his side. When they were finished, Ichigo quickly changed. He walked out of the bathroom, turned off the lights in the living room, and went into Orihime's room.

She was already asleep.

Orihime scooted her futon towards her brother's shrine to make room for Ichigo's. She made his next to hers and placed the crib next to her desk. Orihime even took Ichigo's bags, emptied out some of her drawers, and began placing some of Ichigo's clothes into them. _"No wonder she's passed out. How long was I in there?"_

Ichigo rocked Nell to sleep and put her into her crib. Ichigo stared at his futon, glancing over to the sleeping beauty next to it. Orihime was sleeping like it was normal having a guy sleep at her house. Ichigo remembered their discussion earlier.

"_They were for some guy…"_

For some guy? Orihime's words buzzed around in his head. _"Lucky bastard."_ He thought. Ichigo scoffed as he walked toward the light switch. He turned the lights off and crawled into his futon. As he was about to place his head onto his pillow, Ichigo felt a crinkle on his cheek. Startled, he sat straight up in his bed. He glanced over to Orihime to see if he had woken her. He didn't.

Ichigo ran his hand over his pillow, looking for the object that crinkled. He found it and made his way over to the window for some light. In his hand was a goody bag with chocolate covered strawberries. Ichigo examined it closer. A frown that resembled a certain orange-haired Shinigami was carved into each strawberry.

Ichigo grinned. The strings that tied the top of the bag had a note attached.

_Happy Valentine's Day Kurosaki-kun._

_-Inoue Orihime _

That's all it said.

* * *

Yay! Day One/ Week One is complete! I pretty much decided to make each chapter one week of the month. And because I have OCD and am VERY detail oriented... I made a calendar to illustrate the timeline! :D Yay for my obsessive nature! Here's a link to it if you'd like to see: i16./albums/b4/ixmadxhatterxi/calendar.jpg . I used this year's calendar, seeing it matched up perfectly. (Sorry if the link doesn't work: I think all you have to do is copy and paste the link, but put the http colon slash slash in front of it and it should work.)

Oh, but in a future chapter, you'll find out why Urahara made these gigais in the first place. Don't worry, it'll be good. XD

Please read and review! And please tell me if I made an errors!

**Chapter 2: Title undecided**

_Orihime becomes increasingly depressed. Can Ichigo cheer her up?_


	3. Chapter 2: Moonlit Retribution

Hello everyone! Here's chapter two now I am kind of worried that I really did make them OoC this time!! Darn it, but I had to because I want to write the later chapters of this story! I got them down pat in my noggin! Sorry it took so long for this update, class just started... like three weeks ago. And if you were wondering how to say Nell's name... it's (Nel-ee-ahs-viel Too-ders-vah-nk) I dunno if it helped, but there ya go!

-Random thoughts-  
_I just found out that my sister's pregnant, so I'll be dealing with a REAL one! Damn!! _

_And, this story had more hits than my Myspace. Well isn't that sad!? _

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Disclaimer: You know who own's Bleach. Do I really have to tell you?

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* * *

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One Week and One Day Later- Friday- February 22nd: Week 2

The door to class 1-3 slid open.

Kurosaki Ichigo and Inoue Orihime entered the classroom filled with babies cries and tired teenagers. With haggard eyes, the two walked to their seats with Nell in tow. There had been an accident this morning, so the clinic was too busy and bloody to have a baby there. Orihime set the baby carrier on top of her desk while Ichigo plopped the three bags he was holding onto his chair: one bag was his, one bag was Orihime's, and the big bag was Nell's.

Orihime picked up Nell and handed her over to Ichigo. Ichigo traded her off with Orihime's and Nell's bags. Orihime frantically searched Nell's bag as their baby's incessant crying started to give her a headache. She found the binky, handed over to Ichigo who put it Nell's mouth, and lazily sat into her chair as Nell finally became quiet. Orihime turned her head to look at the two.

Nell was a strange baby. Sometimes she would be calm during the day, awake and crying at night…every two hours. Other times she would be awake and crying during the day, and very calm at night. Otherwise, Nell would sleep, cry, sleep, cry, sleep, cry, eat, burp, bathe, sleep, cry… all day and all night long. Although Nell slept soundly last night, both Ichigo and Orihime were up into the wee hours of the morning, studying for the test today.

Ichigo had bags under his eyes, worse than before. He was already sleep deprived from his Shinigami duties, but now with the baby… he refuses to let Orihime take care of Nell at night, insisting that he should be the one doing so because he leaves the two alone whenever he fights hollows. This leads to minor altercations between the two orange-haired teens, usually with Ichigo winning.

Ichigo, holding Nell and bouncing her in an attempt to make her sleep, recalled last week's events.

_He quietly ate a strawberry or two while sitting next to Orihime's window. The moonlight flowed into her room, creating a thin line between their two futons. Ichigo got up, blocking the path of the moonlight, when he finished eating all the chocolate-covered strawberries. He noticed that one strawberry didn't have a frown, but a smile that looked just like Orihime. Ichigo crawled into his futon next to the sleeping "mother-of-his-child" and quickly fell asleep. Two hours later, they were finally initiated into the joy of parenthood. Nell woke up, crying and screaming._

_That was the true beginning of the project. _

Now rocking Nell, Ichigo shifted his gaze towards the woman of his thoughts. Her head lay facing him, on top of her desk. Orihime had been staring blankly at him for quite some time. She appeared to be consumed within her own thoughts.

"Oi, Inoue." Ichigo finally called out to her when she didn't notice him looking back at her.

Orihime shook her head, rubbing her eyes. "Yes, Kurosaki-kun?" She replied, putting her head back on top of her desk.

"You alright?" Ichigo asked. She looked so… exhausted. The bags under her eyes were dead give-a-ways, but something about her seemed off.

"I'm fine, just a little tired." Orihime smiled.

"Okay," Ichigo replied, feeling slightly relieved to see her smile again. Ichigo continued to rock Nell. Once he deemed it impossible to make her fall asleep with all the other crying babies around, Ichigo placed Nell back into her carrier and gave her a toy. He sat at his desk and glanced at Orihime while he rocked the carrier with his foot.

Ochi-sensei walked into the classroom. "Alright everyone, today's the first day you'll be taking a test during our project." She began speaking as she plopped her briefcase onto her desk. "The other teachers and I have already discussed this, so for those of you who brought your babies today, we will bring your babies to the teacher's lounge while you are taking your test. When you are finished, come pick them up, and go to lunch. Understood? Let's begin."

After several hours passed, the class finally took the test. Once finished, Orihime and Ichigo walked over to the teacher's lounge together. Inside, the teachers turned the entire lounge into a daycare facility. Nell was smack dab in the middle of the ruckus with her partner-in-crime. Ishida Sasuke was a strange mix of his parent's genes. He had Ishida's hair, but only in the front though; the back of his hair was spiky like his mother's. He appeared to have mainly his father's facial features, but when smiling, Sasuke looked like Tatsuki.

And Sasuke definitely had Tatsuki's persona as well.

Sasuke tried to keep Nell by his side at all times, crawling away occasionally to gather some toys for Nell. He apparently stole most of the building blocks and other toys for her, and built a large "fortress" around the two.

Ichigo and Orihime walked over to Nell and Sasuke. "I wonder why Nell hasn't been able to crawl yet…" Orihime said bending over to stare at her baby, placing her finger on her lip. Ichigo stood behind Orihime with his hands in his pockets, blocking the view up Orihime's skirt from his classmates. He averted his gaze to Nell. "I dunno," he replied.

"Hmm…" Orihime stood straight up, fists on her hips. "Oh well, she'll eventually start crawling right? She's already starting to sit up by herself, and sometimes she pulls herself up to stand. But then she falls back down." Orihime squished her cheeks together with her fingers and laughed as she turned to look at Ichigo. He looked surprised. "Kurosaki-kun?"

"Nell can sit up by herself now? When did that happen?"

"Hmm, I think it was on Tuesday, when you were… at work?" Orihime chose her words carefully, making sure she wouldn't spill his secret in front of their classmates.

"You have a job, Kurosaki?" The class president asked as he came up from behind the two and picked up his son. "Where do you work?"

"Uhh…" Both Ichigo and Orihime stared at him blankly. "Umm…" they both said in unison.

"That is…" Keigo came up from behind the class president and wrapped his arm around his shoulder "… none of your BEEZ-WAX!!" Keigo led him and his son away from the two orange-haired teens. "If Ichigo wanted you to know where he works, he'd let you know." He patted the poor class president roughly on the back. "Hey, woman!! Pick up our kid!!" Keigo yelled while whisking the president away.

Chizuru suddenly stormed in and picked up their baby. "I hate men, I hate men, I hate men. Why did I have to be partnered up with a male?!" Chizuru began mocking Ochi-sensei, but noticed Orihime and Ichigo staring at her with curiosity and wonder. "Hime-chan!!"

Orihime quickly shielded herself, but surprisingly, Chizuru stormed right back out. "I hate men, I hate men, I hate…Keigo! " A distant argument arose in the hallway soon after, but ended just as quickly with a loud _smack_ and Keigo crying.

Ichigo smirked. _"Thanks Keigo, but you deserved that last part."_

Orihime looked at Ichigo and smiled at his content. "I'll take her for lunch today, Kurosaki-kun. " Orihime said as she bent over again to pick Nell up.

"Huh? I can take her to lunch. I was _working_ last night again, so…"

Orihime shook her head. "I have a handicrafts club meeting today, so you can take Nell after school. " Orihime looked up towards Ichigo while bouncing Nell in her arms. "Alright." Ichigo said as they exited the teacher's lounge, and the two went their separate ways.

* * *

Ichigo sat on the roof top alone.

The cold winter air snipped at his face, but the sun's rays showered him with some form of warmth. He lay on top of the roof, arms supporting his head, face towards the sky. He laid there, juice box dangling by the chewed up straw in his mouth. Ichigo had already finished eating his school bought lunch, he dare not ask Orihime to make his lunch for him.

He wanted to be alone.

Ichigo turned over to his stomach and crawled his way over to the edge of the roof. Through the bars, he watched Orihime. She was eating lunch with just Tatsuki today. Both the ladies had their babies. Nell and Sasuke were happily playing together whilst the two mothers played as well. _"She looks fine…" _he thought as he continued to watch her. Ichigo watched Orihime as she talked with her best friend, being her usual bubbly self.

But at home, it was a different case.

Sure she was bubbly and happy when they were together, alone at home with Nell; but it seemed forced. She never gave him that feeling when there were other people, even when she was uncomfortable eating dinner with his family. Orihime was only like that when she was with just him. Ichigo began to realize that it became worse whenever he came back from fighting a hollow.

Last time he came home, her eyes were bloodshot and puffy.

Orihime simply smiled when asked and blamed her sleep deprivation, but Ichigo knew otherwise. She was lying. Ichigo sucked air through the straw and continued chewing on it. He sighed. Normally, he would ask her what was wrong. Normally, he would ask what was making her seem so down. Normally, she would answer, as down as she was, with a smile on her face. Normally, she wouldn't lie. _So why would she lie now?_

Her hesitation to answer truthfully causes him to ask apprehensively.

"_With school, Nell, and my Shinigami duties, I haven't been able to ask Inoue about the Valentine's Day gift."_ Heck, Nell alone was enough of a reason for the two orange-haired teens to completely disregard the fact that they were indeed living together. Ichigo rolled over onto his back, looked at the sky, and huffed a little. _"She gave some stuff to Tatsuki, Ishida, and Chad, but theirs were store bought chocolates. Mine was the only homemade gift. So what's that mean?" _Ichigo plopped a hand onto his forehead, shielding his eyes from the sun. He ran his hand through his hair and then scratched his head furiously.

"_Damn it. I can't ask her now, now that she's… lying to me." _Ichigo dropped his gaze and furrowed his brow. _"Why would she lie to me…? Does she… not trust me? Why is she forcing herself to be happy only when she's with me?"_ He looked over towards the spot under the tree where Orihime was smiling and laughing with her best friend. Ichigo grunted. What would bother him the most would be if she didn't trust him.

The lunch bell rang, signaling students to get their asses back to class. Ichigo got up and walked to classroom 1-3, leaving his thoughts of Inoue Orihime, the woman he risked his life to save even though he didn't "owe her a favor," lingering in the back of his mind.

* * *

"Okay everyone! Class is dismissed! Have a good weekend, and for goodness sake, try to stay out of trouble!" Class 1-3's last teacher of the day hollered out to his students.

Ichigo turned his head. "Oi, Inoue. Want me to walk you to your club meeting?" Ichigo asked while he packed up his stuff. He took Nell who was standing and bouncing in her mother's lap, and held her on his side with one arm. With his free arm, Ichigo swiftly gathered all their belongings and strapped Nell into her carrier. Orihime smiled at him, her head propped up in the palms of her hands.

"You're gonna be a good dad one day, Kurosaki-kun." Ichigo's head snapped up. "And no, you don't need to walk me, but if you'd like to that's fine." Orihime said still smiling.

"Eh? Where'd that come from, Inoue? You don't want me to walk you?" Ichigo furrowed his brow.

Orihime waved her arms in the air. "Oh no no no, it's just that…"

"I normally walk with her." Ishida said as he walked towards the two, pushing up his glasses with his middle finger and carrying Sasuke with his other hand. "And I despise you, Kurosaki. Inoue-san's just being considerate."

"Cut the tough act asshole." Ichigo said as he glared at Ishida and quickly flipped him the finger as well. Nell began to throw a fit. She kept reaching for Sasuke. "Okay okay." Ichigo said as he took Nell out of the carrier. "Here, play with that devil child." Ichigo grinned as he glanced at Ishida, who was glaring right at him.

"What was that Kurosaki?" Ishida took a step forward.

"Hold your horses, Ishida," Tatsuki grasped onto his shoulder. Ishida winced at her death grip. "Geez, you're not even over here for a minute and you two are already arguing. I knew I shouldn't have sent you over here," she said with her arms tightly crossed. "Oi, Ichigo, we need a favor: can you watch Sasuke for an hour or two for us."

"Huh? What for? "

"Orihime and Ishida have their handicrafts meeting today, and I've got my karate club today too. My mom's at work, so she can't take care of him." Ichigo scrunched his face and grunted. "Alright alright. I'll watch him for you." He sighed and stared, with a semi-glare on his face, at the two babies.

"Are you going to go home Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked quietly. They kept the fact they were living together a secret from everyone; except from Tatsuki of course, Orihime could never lie to her.

"Nah, I'll be at my house. The old man was sad that he didn't get to see Nell today." Ichigo said softly to Orihime while packing his things once again. She merely nodded.

" 'Kay, I'll come pick Sasuke up from _your_ house." Tatsuki said almost in question form. Ichigo nodded his head, reassuring Tatsuki that her assumption was correct.

"Thanks Ichigo." And everyone was off on their merry way.

Ichigo pushed Sasuke's stroller down the street, the two babies happily playing together in it. Ichigo had somehow managed to stuff his bag, Orihime's bag, Sasuke's bag, and even Nell's gigantic bag under the stroller. With Nell's baby carrier in tow, Ichigo easily pushed the heavy load alongside the road. _"Man, it's easier carrying all this crap with this thing. Inoue and I have to get one of these…"_

On one of the rare occasions, Ichigo let his mind wander. But, he quickly stopped himself. _"It's only a month long project… we don't need one…"_ And suddenly, he felt like something dropped into the pit of his stomach.

He continued to push the stroller down the road, passing numerous shops. He came to a halt in front of a sweets shop. _"Maybe I should get her something to make her feel better?"_ He scratched his head and pondered for a moment. Ichigo, still pushing the huge stroller around, finally entered the shop. The intoxicating sickly sweet smell of the shop quickly filled his lungs. He walked around aimlessly, the smell starting to make him nauseous.

But a certain sweet caught his eye. Daifuku Mochi.

This gooey little piece of heaven was perfect, it contained the secret ingredient: red bean paste.

Ichigo quickly paid for the mochi and walked home with the present, babies, homework and all in tow. When he finally arrived home, Ichigo was greeted by an ecstatic Yuzu. "Hey Dad! Onii-chan's home!" Isshin came flying downstairs and attempted to kick his son in the face. Ichigo evaded it and swung at his dad. Isshin dodged his punch, swiftly picking Nell out of the stroller at the same time.

"Hahaha! You let your guard down, you punk! You still have so much to learn!!" Isshin said as he ran into the clinic before Ichigo could process what happened.

"H-hey! You bastard!!" Before Ichigo could chase after Isshin, Sasuke began to throw a fit. "Oh shit."

Ichigo quickly picked Sasuke up from the stroller and began searching the clinic for his father. "Dad! Seriously, get out here!" Isshin poked his head from behind a bookcase. He slowly got out from behind it, Nell in his arms, and walked towards Ichigo. "Wazzat?" Isshin asked while holding onto Nell and pointing towards Sasuke.

"He's Tatsuki's"

"W-w-w-hat?!" Isshin clutched onto Nell and punched Ichigo square in the jaw. "You punk! How dare you cheat on Orihime-chan with Tatsuki!! And I believed you when you said it was a school project!"

"What the hell?!" Ichigo wiped the sore area on his cheek and kicked his dad in the face when Isshin lunged at him. "It is for a project dumbass! It's Tatsuki's son! I'm just watching him for a while since everyone has a club meeting today! So hand Nell over, Sasuke freaks whenever they're not together!"

Isshin stood straight up and gave Nell to Ichigo. "Oh ho ho," Isshin said while scratching his beard, "that makes sense. And to think I really began to believe that I raised a player. I HAVE MUCH TO TEACH YOU MY SON!" But before Ichigo could attack his father, Isshin ran away laughing. Ichigo cursed at his father, but decided not to add fuel to the flame (so to speak).

Ichigo made his way back to the front door, accumulated his _family's_ belongings, and promptly went to his room. Once inside, he placed Nell and Sasuke on his bed and surrounded the edges with a pillow barrier to prevent them Sasuke from crawling off. Immediately, the two began to play with one another. Feeling secure about leaving the babies alone for a moment, Ichigo began setting up his "study area." He removed some of the pillows on the unoccupied area of his bed and sprawled out his texts books.

Ichigo groaned a bit when he knelt in front of his bed and began studying; he was starting to get really behind at school.

Soon after he began doing his homework, he was rudely interrupted by a loin plushie bursting out of his closet. "Ichigo!! I got a problem with you!" Kon said while jumping out of the closet, lunging at Ichigo. "How dare you stay Inoue-san's house…" He managed to climb onto Ichigo's back. Surprisingly, he let Kon sit on his shoulder and yell in his ear. "-especially without me! But anyway, how is that heavenly valley? Are they more perfect bare?!"

Ichigo's hand grasped around Kon's face.

"Eh?" was all that was heard from the poor lion plushie.

"First of all," Ichigo clutched harder, "I wouldn't let you _near_ Inoue because of what happened last time." Ichigo squeezed so hard, a gumball shaped objected popped out of the plushie's mouth. Ichigo hastily inserted the gikongan into Kon's body. Once Kon began to move again, Ichigo clutched his hand around him. "Second of all, don't ask me that." Then Ichigo simply tossed Kon over to the babies' side of the bed.

Kon began to get up and curse at Ichigo, but became frozen stiff with fear. Nell and Sasuke approached the talking plushie like flesh-eating zombies. "S-stay away!" Sasuke, being the one who could crawl, closed in on Kon. "I-I-Ichigo!!" Sasuke grabbed onto Kon's head. He crawled his way back over to Nell, dragging Kon's head across the bed, and the two…

"Gyaaaaah!!"

… chomped onto Kon's head, their saliva soaking into Kon's stuffing.

Ichigo merely smirked. After an hour of studying through Kon's screams, Karin knocked on Ichigo's bedroom door. "Oi, Ichi-nii. Tatsuki's here."

He turned from his studies. "Tatsuki?"

She walked into Ichigo's room. "Yo! Where's my baby boy?" she said smirking when she saw Sasuke happily playing with a mangled lion plush. Ichigo stood up as Tatsuki picked up Sasuke and tore Kon from his clutches. "That was pretty quick. I figured Inoue would've come sooner than you." Tatsuki shook her head, holding Sasuke firmly in her grasp.

"I was there for an hour and a half, Ichigo. It's just that the president of the handicrafts club has been on Orihime and Ishida's case since they missed a lot when you guys were out saving the world."

Ichigo's ears perked up. "What do you mean, been on their case?"

"Ishida said they missed some type of sewing competition while you guys were away, and because of that, the club didn't rank very well. So naturally, he's been giving them a lot of crap and shit. Orihime was actually kind of nervous going today, but she seemed fine at the end of the day."

Then, it dawned upon him: ask her best friend. "Hey Tatsuki, has Inoue been acting… differently or something?"

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow. "What? No. Why? What's up?"

Ichigo waved it off and scratched the back of his neck. "Nah, it's nothing."

"Alright, but we gotta go. See you, Ichigo. Bye Nell!" Tatsuki grabbed Sasuke's arm and waved by to Nell.

"_So not even Tatsuki noticed it…"_ he thought as he resumed studying. Ichigo glanced towards Nell occasionally, but she seemed preoccupied with Kon.

After a diaper change and some more studying (no hollows for now, thank God), Ichigo became distracted by an unusual movement on his mattress: there was none. He glanced up. Nell had stopped bouncing and thrashing Kon around, and managed to sit up on her own. _"I guess Inoue was right, she can sit up by herself."_ Ichigo stared at his daughter, who was staring at his window, with wonder.

"Maaa…ma."

Nell flopped backwards and giggled. "Mama!" She called out again, swinging her fists in the air, still giggling. Ichigo suddenly stood up, picked Nell up, and glanced out his window. And sure enough, Inoue was seen walking down the road.

Ichigo turned to look at his daughter. "Wha?" He dashed downstairs.

"Oi, Inoue! Inoue!!" He hollered out while opening his front door. Orihime had been only a few steps away. Startled, she stumbled backwards. "Yes, Kurosaki-kun?" she said hesitantly.

"She said 'mama.' Nell said 'mama!'" Ichigo shoved their baby into Orihime's face.

"R-really?!" Orihime jumped for joy and grasped onto Nell. She held her up by the armpits and swung her around. "You said 'mama?!' Oh, I'm so proud of you!!" Orihime brought Nell closer to her, left arm wrapping behind Nell's back, right hand cupping Nell's head. She then smiled and rubbed her nose against Nell's nose, making her baby burst out giggling again. Ichigo watched the two with his hands in his pockets. For the first time this week, Ichigo saw Orihime's real smile. A complete feeling of warmth showered over him, and he couldn't help but smile as well.

But his smile quickly faded and his signature frown was plastered on his face. Isshin had come out of hiding.

"Hey, what's with all the ruckus?" He saw Orihime and knocked Ichigo out of the way. "Oh! Orihime-chan!"

Orihime lifted her head from Nell's and joyously said, "Nell said her first word!"

"Really?!" Isshin ran inside and headed for the kitchen. "Yuzu! Can you make something special for tonight?! We need to celebrate!!"

Ichigo covered his face with his hand and sighed. As he lowered his hand, he glanced at Orihime. She was beaming. _"I guess nothing really was wrong…"_ Ichigo smirked back at her radiant smile and quickly cocked his head to the side, signaling Orihime to come in for dinner.

As soon as they finished dinner, the young 'family' began walking home. Orihime, hands in front holding her bag, happily walked eyes closed, swaying side to side. She began humming an unfamiliar tune. Ichigo grinned a bit; she was carefree as usual.

Then he suddenly remembered. "Oi, Inoue. Hold up a sec." He placed Nell's carrier onto the pavement and reached into his school bag. Ichigo pulled out the daifuku mochi and handed it to Orihime.

"Eh? What's this for, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo shrugged. "It's for you-" He paused. "And me." She smiled again and opened up the case. She happily ate one and extended the box towards Ichigo, gesturing for him to take a piece. She scrunched her face a bit when she realized his hands were full. Orihime took out a piece and blushed.

"Say ahhh!"

"Wha-"

Orihime popped the mochi into Ichigo's mouth, her face completely red. Slightly baffled, all Ichigo did was chew on the dessert Orihime had placed into his mouth. She ate another piece then turned to him. "Want another?" she asked, still blushing.

Ichigo stopped walking. Orihime took that as a 'yes' and extended her hand towards Ichigo's face. Ichigo slowly bent down a bit. Careful to not accidentally wrap his lips around Orihime's slender fingers, Ichigo quickly grabbed the mochi with his teeth and began to masticate it with his characteristic frown on his face. Orihime merely smiled at his actions and commenced eating her little gift from Ichigo.

By the time they reached _their_ apartment, they had eaten all the mochi. Once inside, they routinely began getting ready for bed. It was only eight in the evening.

As they began setting up their futon's, Ichigo's shinigami representative badge went off. "Shit," was all he said as he quickly got up and thrust the badge onto his chest. "I'll be right back," he said to Orihime as he went off to fight the hollow, feeling very relieved now that she was acting more like her normal self.

When he returned, Ichigo entered through the balcony window into Orihime's room as usual. Her lights were still on and the futons were made. Ichigo's body was tucked snuggly in his futon. Orihime and Nell were missing. Ichigo fused into his body and made his way to Orihime's bedroom door. It was slightly cracked open. Ichigo peeked through, inching the door open bit by bit.

Her back towards Ichigo, Orihime prayed at her brother's altar which they had moved into the living room in order to make more livable space in the bedroom. Ichigo began to slide the door open further, but abruptly stopped.

Orihime sniffled. "I'm sorry, Onii-chan."

He felt a sudden heaviness on his chest. Unwilling to precede further, Ichigo remained in the confines of Orihime's bedroom. He leaned against the wall, staying close to the door, and watched Orihime through the corners of his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm probably going to make you worry some more, huh?" Supporting the sleeping Nell with her left arm, Orihime wiped her face with her right hand. She chuckled a bit. "I wasn't even like this before I had to go to Hueco Mundo, but don't worry! It should pass…" Her head dropped, tears falling onto her hands. Ichigo saw her wipe her face again, and then she suddenly-

"GLOOM!!"

-screamed out, "No more gloom!!" Orihime stood up and lightly slapped her cheek with her free hand. "I can't let Kurosaki-kun see my gloom!"

The heaviness on Ichigo's chest dissipated. It felt like he was stabbed in the chest instead. Ichigo leaned against the wall and slowly slid down.

Suddenly, Nell's cries filled the entire apartment.

"Oh no!" Orihime began rock Nell side to side, realizing her sudden outburst caused her baby to be rudely awakened. "I'm sorry, Nell!" Unable to soothe Nell with the rocking motion, Orihime began to hum the unfamiliar tune again. Ichigo tilted his head back against the wall and listened intently, the pain in his chest still present.

Orihime began singing.

"Nelyasviel Tuderschvank is an Espada!

She's rank number 3, and its okay with me,

'Cause she's strong like her papa!"

"Uhh… I really need to come up with more words!" Orihime said cheerfully, still rocking Nell. Ichigo grinned a little at her lyrics. He slowly got up and walked through her bedroom door. "Oi, Inoue. I'm back," he said as he approached her. She turned to face him. He came to a halt. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy again, but this time, her tears had streaked her face.

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun! You're back already? See Nell, look at how strong you dad is!" She smiled at Ichigo.

He frowned. She was forcing herself again. Orihime looked back at Nell when Ichigo didn't return the smile. "I accidentally woke her up. She was sleeping so peacefully too! You want to try, Kurosaki-kun? She tends to sleep faster when you hold her."

Orihime handed Nell over to Ichigo. "I'm going to wash my face," she said as she dashed into the bathroom. Ichigo walked into their bedroom and rocked Nell while rubbing her back. "There there. Your momma will be alright again soon," he cooed. She quickly fell back asleep.

_**Trouble in a parent's heart gets carried straight down to the child.**_

Orihime came into the room, and noticed Nell was sleeping. She began fixing up Nell's crib as Ichigo slowly swayed her side to side. Once Orihime was finished, Ichigo carefully placed Nell into her crib. Orihime lifted her comforter and slipped her legs into her futon. She turned to Ichigo.

"Hey Kurosaki-kun," she whispered.

"Hmm?" He mumbled as he turned off the lights, the moon immediately casting its rays between their futons.

"Do I really look like your mom?"

"Huh?" Ichigo stared at Orihime with an indescribable look on his face as he got into his futon.

Orihime, who slipped fully into the futon, removed the futon that covered her mouth. "I mean, your dad keeps telling me that I remind him of your mom. Do I remind you of her?" she asked curiously. Ichigo thought about it as he got into his futon. He turned his head to face Orihime.

"Kind of, I guess. I did get my orange hair from her. You only need curly hair, and you'd probably look more like her." Orihime smiled a little. "I never saw my mom cry or get mad. She was always… happy. I've seen you cry a couple times. "

"I got mad once. It was in Hueco Mundo. Ulquiorra got me so mad, I slapped him." Orihime said quite cheerfully while whispering. Ichigo smirked, but it soon faded as he thought about her initial question. He stared at the ceiling.

"Overall, you're both pretty positive about things, so yeah. You are kind of like her; although, you do seem down lately." He looked at Orihime from the corner of his eye. He heard her rustle in her futon a bit before she answered. "I'm fine, I'm just a little tired."

_She lied._ "Alright then. Good night, Inoue." Ichigo turned to his right side, facing away from Orihime.

"Good night, Kurosaki-kun."

Orihime waited for an hour to pass. Once she noticed it was already ten o' clock, she began to relax. Nell was soundly asleep, tonight wasn't going to one of _those_ nights. Orihime quietly sighed. _"Oi, I guess I'm not hiding it too well from Kurosaki-kun. He keeps asking if I'm okay. Bah, I've been so gloomy lately, and I don't know why."_ Orihime tossed her sheets over her head and sighed even deeper. She uncovered her head again and bit onto her thumb.

"_I'm so weird."  
_"_I'm too cowardly."  
_"_I'm… weak."_

"I'm… sorry." Orihime said softly. She sighed for the last time and turned onto her left side after glancing at Ichigo. She turned her back towards him.

* * *

Ichigo waited for an hour to pass. Once he noticed it was already ten o' clock, he began to relax. Nell was soundly asleep, tonight wasn't going to be one of _those_ nights. He heard Orihime quietly sigh.

"_Come on, King! You know she's depressed, go and console her! Then when she's all buttered up…"  
_"_Shut up, I'm not that kind of guy!!"  
_"_Yeah right! I know what you're thinking ALL the time."_

"I'm… sorry."

Ichigo immediately ceased his argument with his inner hollow at the sound of those words. He heard her sigh and heard her comforter rustle about. Unknowing what to do, Ichigo slowly turned onto his belly to look at the lady laying next to him.

"Sorry- sorry for what?" he quietly asked.

Orihime's eyes widened. She threw he sheets over her head. "H-hey!" Ichigo tried to whisper. Still on his stomach, he extended his arms, hands crossing the path of the moonlight, and pulled himself towards Orihime's futon. Ichigo perched himself up with his left elbow. "Inoue." He grabbed what he made out to be her shoulder through the thick covers. "Inoue!" he said again.

"What's wrong, Inoue? I know something's been bothering you. What are you sorry for?" he whispered to her forcefully. She moved onto her back, her sheets still covering her face.

He heard a tiny sniffle.

Ichigo grabbed the sheets and lightly pulled them off her face.

Her face was scrunched, she bit her lip. Hot liquid rolled from the corners of her eyes, staining her cheeks as they rolled down towards her pillow. Ichigo's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. Orihime was crying. This was the third time he had seen her cry.

"I-Ino-"

"I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun. I'm sorry." Tears continued to stream down her face, as she brought her hands up to her cheeks. She used the palms of her hands to wipe her face.

"I'm sorry I ever went to Hueco Mundo."

Ichigo's expression of concern softened. "What?"

"I'm sorry I ever went. I thought I was finally going to protect you, but you ended up protecting me. Again. Because of me, you all got hurt, and when it got down to it, I couldn't help at all." Tears flowed from her eyes. Orihime stopped wiping them away, they came too quickly. "I never got the chance to think about it before, but then Nell reminds me of it, and you're always gone fighting…"She clutched at her face, her tears soaking them through her delicate hands.

"H-hey, that's not true." Ichigo said crawling even closer towards Orihime.

"Inoue, if you hadn't gone, we actually could have lost the war."

She stopped crying for a moment. "What?"

"Think about it. In Hueco Mundo, we all faced tough battles, and apparently we all got stronger because of it. If you hadn't gone, I wouldn't have been able to wear my mask for very long during the Winter War." Ichigo removed Orihime's hands from her face. "So don't even think about it like that. We were all okay in the end, so that's all that matters, right?" He whispered as he wiped away the remaining tears on her face.

"Yeah, but-" Orihime turned towards Ichigo.

He slid his elbow out from under him and extended it to serve as his pillow. Ichigo rested his head onto his left arm and looked into Orihime's brown eyes. "But what?"

"Nothing." Orihime said with a smile on her face.

"Right, so let's get some sleep."

Orihime nodded and brought her hands toward her face. She rested her cheek on them, and quickly fell asleep.

Throughout the night, the two inched closer in their sleep. Ichigo had fully crossed the moonlight's path and lay completely in Orihime's futon. Left arm still serving as his pillow, he wrapped his right arm loosely around the swell of Orihime's back. Ichigo's left arm serving as _her_ pillow, she lightly placed a hand on his side and kept her other arm between them.

Her head tucked under his chin, their legs slightly intertwined, the two got the best night of sleep they had all week-

-except for the morning heart attack and bashful blushing the following day, of course.

* * *

I like pulling quotes from the manga. It makes it seem more real... to me at the very least. :D I hope you guys liked Sasuke! It was kind of a spur of the moment thing (I was going to name him Sosuke) but then I thought, since the voice actor (for the japanese version at least) did the voice for Ishida and Sasuke from Naruto, why not make Sasuke his kid?!

But man, I thought this was going to be an UBERLY short chapter, but it ended up being longer than the previous one. GO FIGURE! Geez, time really moves on quickly. I've got way too much on my palte, but thankfully I finished my drama. :D Huan Huan Ai is no longer on the brain, so now I can continue to write!

Oh yeah! I posted this up without proofreading it, so if you see any mistakes... I'm working on it!

**Next Chapter: Monthly Meetings  
**_What happens when their Nakama find out they have a baby? And guess what? Urahara finally gives an explanation. _


	4. Chapter 3: Monthly Meeting

Well, here it is... Chapter 3!! Well, technically 4, but whatever! :D The last chapter, I actually just kind wrote it and posted it up. It was kinda like the second book of Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling said she had trouble with her second book of the series because it didn't flow! and that was my case... it didn't flow... to me at least!! DX So sorry if it disappointed any of you. I hope this chapter makes ammends! But I must say, Urahara is a pimp and Yoruichi just rocks. They're my second favorite couple, next to IchiHime, of course. Caution: Beware of all the talking! Man.. I hate doing just dialouges, but there was no way around it! Argh!

Disclaimer: I do not own bleach, but if I did, then I'd totally make Ichigo and Orihime end up together. And Ruki/Renji and Ura/Yoru and Ishi/Tats and...

* * *

**One Week and One Day Later- Saturday- March 1st: Week 3**

Orihime scanned her room.

"Gloves, gloves, gloves, gloves, gloves…"

She found her maroon gloves and slipped them on.

"Scarf, scarf, scarf, scarf, scarf, scarf…"

She quickly wrapped it around her neck and fixed her hair.

"Oi, Inoue! You ready yet?" Ichigo hollered out from the living room.

"J-just a minute, I need to find my… BOOTS!" Orihime picked them up and attempted to put them on while hopping her way over to the living room. Ichigo averted his gazed momentarily.

"Inoue. Your skirt…"

Orihime raised her leg well above waist height in order to put her knee-high boots on without sitting. Her floral skirt rode up and threatened to expose a part of her panties. He looked back at her. With her leg still raised and some frilly little undergarment peeking out, Orihime looked up at Ichigo. "What did you say, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked as she finished putting on one of her boots, completely oblivious to what he had said. "Nothing," he replied, secretly enjoying the peep show. He looked away once he realized he was staring.

She finished putting on her other boot and straightened her skirt, much to Ichigo's relief _and_ displeasure.

"Alright! Let's go!" Orihime said cheerfully. "Oh no, Nell…"

Nell, who was being carried by Ichigo, bit onto her dad's maroon jacket collar. Once his collar became saturated with her saliva, Nell reached for Ichigo's hoodie strings. Before Nell could chomp down, Orihime took her into her arms and went over to the sink. She wet a rag and began cleaning off Ichigo's collar.

"Oi, Inoue, you don't need to do that." Ichigo said, looking down at the busty beauty.

"I know," she said as she attempted to take Nell's saliva out of Ichigo's collar, "but you don't want to smell like Nell's spit, do you?" Orihime finished cleaning his jacket and fixed the collar. She lightly patted it down onto his chest. "There! All clean!" she said, smiling gleefully. Orihime packed up the rest of Nell's belongings, pulling out a baby cap in the process. She put the hat on Nell's head and placed her baby into her carrier.

"She looks so cute!" Orihime took a step back and looked at her baby. "She looks just like Nell now!" She clapped her hands together and looked at Ichigo. "What do you think, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Where did you get that hat from, Inoue?"

"I made it!"

The hat looked like a cracked skull.

"Looks alright, I guess. When did you make it?"

"I would work on it whenever you went off to fight a hollow," she replied while slinging Nell's baby bag over her shoulder. "Well, shall we go?"

Ichigo nodded and picked up Nell's carrier. The happy family walked out of the apartment, locked the door, and made their way towards their destination. They did not speak as they walked; only Nell's "goo's" and "gaa's" were heard. But as they walked, Orihime began to daydream. She chuckled to herself. Ichigo looked over to Orihime who was covering her mouth as she laughed to herself. Before Ichigo could ask, Orihime looked up at him.

"Hey, Kurosaki-kun!"

"Hmm?"

"You know what I just realized?"

"What's that?"

"Most of our friends, maybe even most of the people we know, are already dead!"

She laughed to herself again, causing Nell to giggle as well. Normally such a comment would be perceived as negative, but Ichigo couldn't stop himself from grinning. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Since their return from Hueco Mundo and the end of the Winter War, Ichigo and his nakama agreed to meet every month at the Urahara shop.

As they neared toward their destination, a large hoopla could be heard.

"Oi, Inoue." Ichigo called out to her as she reached for the shop's door.

"Yes, Kurosaki-kun?" She looked back towards him.

"I'll stay out here for a bit." He looked down at Nell, who was fast asleep in her carrier.

Orihime nodded and handed their baby's bag to Ichigo. He sat at the front of the shop and rocked Nell's carrier with his foot. Orihime was greeted by Jinta and Ururu as she walked into the shop. "They're in there," Ururu said as Jinta pointed to the room in the back with his thumb. Orihime bowed slightly to say thanks and made her way to the back room.

She slid the door open.

"Inoue!" Rukia called out as she sat cross-legged, leaning back on her hands. She appeared to be dressed in normal attire rather than her shinigami robe. Renji sat next to her in his hippie outfit. A large assortment of food lay on the table in front of them and Renji was happily eating the majority of it. "You're late! And so is Ichigo!" Rukia said, grinning.

"Kuchiki-san! Abarai-kun!"

Before Orihime could make her way over to the table, her face was caressingly, yet violently, shoved into a gigantic bosom. "Orihime!" Matsumoto held onto the poor girl, suffocating her with the large crevasses of her breasts. Orihime found the strength to pull away for a moment.

"Rangiku-san!"

Her freedom was short-lived. Matsumoto grabbed Orihime and hugged her once again, but she quickly let go of her. Orihime finally caught her breath once Matsumoto released her from her grip. Matsumoto grasped onto her shoulders and examined the confused girl with excited eyes.

"Hmm… you've grown. You might even get as big as me one day."

Orihime blushed. "Thank you?"

"No problem!" Matsumoto replied. "But, never mind that!" She inched closer to Orihime's face. "Did you give it to him?" she asked quietly as she glanced over to Rukia and Renji, who were already arguing over the food.

Orihime scrunched her face, but smiled a little. "Kind of…?"

Matsumoto clenched onto Orihime's shoulders again. "What do you mean 'kind of?' It's either you did or you didn't." She loosened her grip. "So did you do it?"

"Yes… but it's complicated."

"How?" Matsumoto asked, trying to be patient.

"Well, I gave it to him, but I didn't at the same time… I kind of left it on his pillow, but I fell asleep so I didn't see his reaction." Orihime replied as she fiddled with her hair and bit her lip.

"What? What do you mean: you left it on his pillow?"

"I told you it's complicated. I couldn't give it to him at school like you and Tatsuki-chan said."

"Why?" Matsumoto waited for a full explanation.

"Well, because-"

Suddenly, Ichigo slid the door open with a crying Nell in his arms.

"Inoue, she wants her 'mama.'"

Ichigo walked briskly towards Orihime. A startled Matsumoto loosened her grip, allowing Orihime escape her clutches. Orihime took Nell into her arms and began bouncing her baby. Ichigo turned to Rukia and Renji as she soothed Nell. "Yo," he said as he put an arm up to wave hello.

"Yo?! What the hell, Ichigo?!" Rukia slammed her hand onto the table as she stood up. "When did you two have a kid together?!"

"Wha-" was all that escaped Renji mouth with a some barbequed squid dangling from his mouth.

"Orihime! So that's what you meant by 'it's complicated.'" Matsumoto said as she patted Ichigo on the back. "Been getting' busy while we were gone?"

"N-no…" Orihime said as she rocked Nell.

"Wait a second!" Ichigo tried to defend himself as he scowled. _Why does everyone react like this?!_

"When did you get Inoue pregnant?"

"_How_ did you get her pregnant?"

"How old is your baby?"

"What did your dad say?"

"Is that why your boobs are bigger?"

The two were bombarded with questions. Ichigo furrowed his brow and brought his hand up to his face while Orihime looked back and forth from Ichigo to their friends, unsure if she should answer their questions. But then, it suddenly occurred to Matsumoto. "You two are living together, aren't you?!"

Both of their heads perked up immediately.

Heat rose in their cheeks as memories of the night a week prior to this monthly meeting poured into their thoughts. Orihime had woken up first, completely encased in Ichigo's arms. The shock of waking up in his arms caused her to suddenly look up, banging the top of her head against his chin. Ichigo, of course, woke up. With eyes scrunched together, he brought the hand resting on the swell of Orihime's back up to his chin as he rolled onto his back. Orihime immediately crawled towards Ichigo, apologizing in a hushed tone to prevent Nell from waking. Ichigo, suddenly realizing they were sleeping in the same futon, sat up while leaning back on his arms. On hands and knees, Orihime examined Ichigo's face, asking if he was alright. He backed away slightly, but soon realized that was a bad move; he could he down her sleeping shirt. He looked away. Noticing that Ichigo's face was completely red as he averted his gaze, Orihime looked down to where he was staring. She quickly sat on her feet and brought her hand to her chest. She looked downwards, her face now completely red as well. With head downcast, she slowly trailed her eyes up. Their eyes met, but they quickly looked away. Nell began to stir, and they never spoke of that morning ever again.

As they recalled that eventful morning, the two looked at each other with their faces completely flushed.

"That's a yes," Renji said as he leaned back, enjoying the show.

"N-no," they said in unison.

"Yeah right," Matsumoto said as she sat down at the table, signaling Orihime to sit next to her.

"Just look at your faces, you two are still blushing." Rukia grinned as she sat back down next to Renji. With her cheeks still a red hue, Orihime sat next to Matsumoto. She glanced back at Ichigo, who was indeed still blushing as well. They knew that they were blushing not because of what happened last week, but because of what has been occurring during the week. Whether or not the two teens would admit it, they began to sleep closer and closer every night, but they remain in their own futons.

"Yeah yeah, shut the f-" Ichigo looked Orihime before he finished his sentence. She looked worried and covered Nell's ears. "- just shut up," he said as he glared at the group. He sat between Orihime and Rukia.

"So you're living together, eh?" Rukia slapped Ichigo on the back. "So where'd the baby come from? It looks like it could be yours, but there's no way it could be." Ichigo glared at Rukia. "Why not?"

Rukia looked at the well-endowed strawberry blonde vice-captain. "Matsumoto, unbutton your shirt."

"Wha?" Orihime's eyes widened. She looked at Rukia with disbelief, and then turned her head to Matsumoto, who complied with their raven-haired friend's request. Matsumoto undid two buttons and was about to undo the third until Ichigo slammed his elbow onto the table and propped his head up. He turned his blushing face away from Matsumoto and Orihime, and scowled at Rukia and Renji.

"That's why," Renji said, grinning ear to ear.

"So there's no way you could've gotten Inoue pregnant," Rukia said as she looked at the two. "Besides, the timing is off. If Inoue really had a baby, then she would've been ready to pop while we were in Soul Society."

"You're so fun to tease, Ichigo. " Matsumoto changed the subject momentarily as she unbuttoned her shirt all the way. "Look, I'm wearing a shirt underneath!" Before Ichigo could say anything, Rukia interrupted. "So, seriously, what's with the baby?" She looked at Nell again. "Looks kind of like Nell doesn't it, except for the orange hair?" she asked Renji. He nodded. "Yeah, especially with that hat on."

"That's why we named her Nell!" Orihime interjected enthusiastically. "And doesn't the hat look cute on her?" She picked Nell up and plopped her onto the table. Nell started bouncing on her bottom, waving her arms in the air. Rukia became entranced with her cuteness. "So cute…" She reached out to hold Nell, but the baby promptly bit onto Rukia's hand.

"W-what the hell?!" Rukia tried to retract her hand, but alas, Nell's chomp was strong.

"Aiyaa. I'm sorry, Kuchiki-san!" Orihime pulled Nell into her lap and propped her up with her left arm. "She's been teething since we got her, but she only gets like this once and a while. She looks pretty cool now, now that her fangs grew in!" Orihime smiled as she showed them Nell's canine teeth. "Kurosaki-kun, can you get the-"

"Here." Ichigo already searched through Nell's bag and pulled out a teething ring. He handed it to Orihime who promptly put it into Nell's mouth. She munched onto it for a bit and then tossed it aside. Ichigo picked it up and tried to give it back to Nell. Orihime sighed. "Hmm. She always does that, but we don't have anything else to give her."

"Have you tried giving her whiskey?" Renji surprisingly asked.

"What?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Would that really work?"

"No, don't do that," Matsumoto said as she began cleaning out a bowl. She gestured Orihime to hand Nell over once she finished wiping it clean. Matsumoto expertly held the baby with one arm and stuck a clean finger into Nell's mouth. Nell began gnawing on her finger. "Ichigo, you have a rag or something?"

He nodded his head and searched through the bag.

"Orihime, get some ice and water, and put it into that bowl."

Orihime got up and did as she was told. Once Ichigo and Orihime completed their tasks, Matsumoto took the rag and dipped it in the ice water. She gave the rag to Nell, who began biting on it. "See, nothin' to it!" Matsumoto said proudly.

"Wow, how'd you know to do that?" Orihime asked curiously.

"Eh, you learn certain things here and there." Matsumoto said, shrugging her shoulders. "So anyway, what's with this thing? It's not a baby, it's a gigai. Where'd you get it from?"

"Well, it's-" Orihime began.

"- it's for a school project," a voice from behind said. They all turned their heads to see who else dropped by.

"Ishida-kun!" Orihime exclaimed. Tatsuki popped out from behind him with Sasuke in her arms. He immediately began to fidget when he saw Nell, and Nell did the same. ""Tatsuki-chan! What are you guys doing here?!" Orihime asked excitedly as she began to get up. Tatsuki signaled her to remain sitting.

"We came by to see Rukia, of course," she replied as she and Matsumoto put the babies onto the floor so they could play with each other. "But, we can't stay long."

"Eh? Why not?" Orihime pouted.

"We're gonna give Ishida's dad a heart attack." Tatsuki smirked as she waved to Rukia and Renji. "How you been?" she asked casually. Rukia grinned. "As good as a dead person gets." Ichigo looked up at Ishida who stood next to Tatsuki. "I'm surprised you're here. I thought you're not supposed to be 'associating yourself with shinigami' anymore. "

"Technically, they don't count as shinigami since they're not doing their shinigami duties because of this 'meeting.' Plus, we're not staying long, so it matters not." Ishida pushed him glasses up to the bridge of his nose with his middle finger.

"Yeah, yeah. I still say your logic is messed up."

"Whatever. The real reason _I_ came was to find out why Urahara-san made these things in the first place." Ishida sat between Renji and Tatsuki. "Anyone know where he is?"

"Nope. When we crossed over, he was already gone." Renji said as he scratched his nose. "The two brats out there just stuck us in this room and gave us this food."

"Who're you calling a brat?!" Jinta poked his head into the room. Apparently, he and Ururu were eavesdropping the entire time. "And here I was going to tell you guys that the boss-man is back… Shoot, I told you anyway." He grunted and left when Urahara called for him. Ishida and Ichigo stood up and made their way to the door, but stopped once they heard scurrying footsteps pass their room.

"Yoruichi, I got you your milk! " They all heard Urahara call out lovingly to his long time 'friend' as he passed the room.

Undecipherable words were heard in response. Then, Urahara's hurried footsteps were heard after that. Mr. Hat-and-Clogs barged into the room, almost knocking into Ichigo. "Sorry to intrude!" he said in an ethereal tune. "I'll be taking this and this and this and… that!" He grabbed all the eggrolls, shrimp tempura, pork shu mai, and a banana (?). He turned to leave the room, but stopped dead when a voice from afar called out his name.

"KISUKE!!"

And in a mere second, Yoruichi appeared in the room. She was truly the Goddess of Flash. Yoruichi stood in front of Urahara, holding various ropes and other restraints in her hands. "Kisuke!" she called out again. The tiny smidgen of animosity towards Urahara in her tone sent shivers down everyone's spine. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she questioned him.

"Getting you food?"

"Not that, you dolt! Why the hell did you tie my hands and feet up when I was sleeping?!" she asked him angrily while snatching the banana out of his hands and dropping her restraints to the floor. Ichigo and Ishida took a seat. _This could take a while…_

"So I know that you wouldn't be running around like you normally do," he replied in the same light and airy tone.

"But, I need to be able to move, Kisuke: I need to get my own food; I need to stay by the bathroom at all times…"

"Yeah, but I tied you just enough so you can still do all that! Besides, I don't want you to go to Soul Society in your condition. "

"Yoruichi-san, you're sick?" Orihime interrupted.

"No, she's not sick." Urahara answered for her as he put the food back down.

"Speak for yourself. I get sick every goddamn morning!" She said with her mouth full of a half-masticated banana.

"Excuse her, she's a bit hormonal," he said whispered to the group behind his ever present white fan. "And no, Inoue-san, she's not sick…she's-" Yoruichi crossed her arms and huffed.

"I'm pregnant."

The men's faces dropped and the women gasped. "What?! How?!"

"Well, when a man and a woman love each other…" Urahara began, "or when the man needs a stress reliever because the General Commander keeps pestering him for a bunch of favors even though the man was exiled from the place he called home by the Central 46," he gasped for breath," and the woman needs a means of getting amped up for the upcoming Winter War…"

"Or all of the above." Yoruichi said as she took more food and plopped her ass down.

"Yeah, or all of the above…"

"Okay okay, we get all that, but…" They were all at a loss of words.

"But, why did you make a baby gigai?" Ishida broke the silence. He had a hunch that they were connected.

"Oh that!" Urahara sat next to Yoruichi who glared at him a little.

"I told him to keep it a secret. Enough said," she said as she began eating again.

"So let me get this straight," Ichigo couldn't fit the pieces together, "You got her pregnant, and she told you to keep it a secret. So you built a baby gigai? Why?"

Urahara laughed and Yoruichi just shook her head. "Because I wanted to see what our baby would look like, of course! I couldn't tell anyone since Soi Fong would kill me if she found out, so I made a fake baby so I could practice being a father." Only Orihime went "aww."

"But when I was testing it out, I got too excited and forgot to check if anyone was in the store when I put the modified soul and our hairs into the gigai, and there was this guy who saw and he wanted to use it for a project or something. I figured it would be good idea for some extra cash for when the baby comes. So here we all are; ironic, isn't it?"

"Yeah, real ironic, Kisuke. Well... I'm gonna take nap." Yoruichi got up and left. Urahara quickly followed before he could be questioned some more.

"H-hey!" Ichigo called after him, but let it go. "At least we got some weird ass explanation."

"Well, we got what we came here for." Ishida picked Sasuke up and looked at Tatsuki. She promptly stood up and they waved bye to everyone and left. Orihime pouted. She wanted them to stay longer.

"Right, let's get down to business first." Rukia said with a serious tone in her voice. "Ichigo, the General Commander has ordered a temporary alleviation of your shinigami representative duties."

Ichigo furrowed his brow and slammed his hand onto the table. "WHAT?!"

"Hear her out first, Ichigo." Matsumoto tried to calm him down.

"You're still a _human_ teenager. The General Commander realizes this. So, he wishes to take off some of the burden on you."

"By what, taking away my shinigami representative status?!"

"No, you moron, keep listening," Renji said.

"He has already ordered another shinigami from the eighth squad to be stationed here. She is much more capable than that other guy. It was effective Thursday this week."

Orihime listened intently, her mouth slightly agape.

"Also, you representative badge will only go off if the hollow remains in the living world for eight minutes."

"Why eight minutes?" Orihime thought out loud.

"I dunno. Five minutes was too short, ten minutes was too long. So they chose eight I guess, and she's from the eighth squad, so there you go," Renji inputted his logic into the conversation.

"Anyways, the General Commander finds that your strength is essential. BUT, he wants you to try to live a normal life for now. BUT, he doesn't want your skills to get rusty, so from time to time you will be _required_ to go to Soul Society to train; you too Inoue, and Sado as well."

"Eh? Why me?" Orihime pointed to herself.

"You're strong too, Inoue. You're just too nice. The General Commander has already decided that you will be stationed in the fourth squad when you go to Soul Society and train at the academy."

"Really? Wow..."

"Yup."Rukia let it sink in for a moment. "So would you guys like to meet the new shinigami?"

"Yeah, let's go." Ichigo stood up and looked down at Orihime who remained seated. "I think I'll stay here. It's really your guys' business, and I'll probably see her around the town or something." Orihime smiled as she talked.

"You sure?" Ichigo asked, still slightly apprehensive of leaving Orihime alone. She nodded her head. "I need to watch Nell anyway." Ichigo nodded his head and separated from his body.

"Watch our bodies for us, Inoue?" Rukia asked as she slipped out of her gigai. The shinigami group left, leaving Orihime alone with the baby. Orihime moved Ichigo's body and the other gigai so that they leaned against the wall, instead of lying sprawled out on the floor. Nell crawled over to her dad's body and bit down on his hand.

"Nell…"

Orihime giggled a bit, and let her daughter gnaw on Ichigo's hand. Some time passed, and she began to get antsy. Orihime picked Nell up and poked her head out of the room. Jinta and Ururu were outside sweeping the shop front. She wandered around the shop. Orihime passed a room whose door was cracked open. She peered through.

Yoruichi sat by the window, Urahara's head resting in her lap as he slept. She stared out the window as she stroked Urahara's hair. Orihime knocked on the door. She heard Yoruichi whisper 'come in,' and she quietly entered the room and sat next to Yoruichi.

"Look at this guy," she said as she roughly scratched Urahara's scruffy chin, "he comes in here saying he wants to take a nap with me, but ends up sleeping first. Do you need anything, Inoue?"

"Umm, not really. Everyone left to talk to the new shinigami stationed here, but I stayed behind." Orihime gave a soft smile. "Everyone knows what they're doing, they know where they're going in life, but I'm still here." Yoruichi watched the normally ditzy teenage girl carrying her baby through the corner of her yellow eyes. "I guess just being here is helpful too, but I wish… BAH! I shouldn't be like this! I'm sorry, Yoruichi-san." Orihime quickly got up to leave.

"Sometimes, the subtle things in life are what create the most change."

"Eh?" Orihime turned to look at Yoruichi. She was still looking out the window.

"When you went to Hueco Mundo, what happened? Did everyone act as if you never existed? No, they came to rescue you. Inoue, you may not be the strongest one, the smartest one, or the loudest one, but you are you. To your nakama, no one can take your place. You're not just 'there' to take up space or because they're used to you being 'there.' You're with them because they want you there. Unless, of course, if you don't want to be there." Yoruichi finally turned to look at Orihime. "But, if you don't, then to hell with that! Leave on your own accord, and not with someone blackmailing you."

Orihime smiled and sat back down. "Thanks, Yoruichi-san."

Yoruichi waved her gratitude off. "Don't thank me; thank the baby in my belly. It's what's making me say these sentimental, wise things." She smirked at Orihime, who smiled right back.

"So how do you feel?"

"Eh, I'm alright. I have to piss all the time, I'm hungry all the time, I get sick all the time, but other than that, I'm just plain dandy."

"Umm, Yoruichi-san, how are you pregnant? I mean, you're kinda dead."

Yoruichi laughed. "Inoue, do you know what happens to souls that die in Soul Society?" Orihime shook her head. "They are reborn into the living world. You create new souls in the living world, but you can also create new souls in the realm of the dead. So there you go: we are forever trapped in a world where you are constantly reborn, only if you die."

Silence.

Orihime needed a moment to take it all in before a characteristic "Oh" of understanding escaped her mouth.

"Yoruichi-san?" Orihime began again. She was chuck-full of questions today.

"Yes?"

"The General Commander has already granted you and Urahara-san amnesty. Why do you still remain here?" Orihime asked not quite sure if it was her place to ask such a thing. Yoruichi's ears perked up.

"I don't normally stay here, but he likes it here. That's reason enough. Usually, I move from place to place, going back and forth from this world and Soul Society. But since Kisuke likes staying here so much and now that I'm pregnant, I've decided to stay here as well. That way, the General Commander won't bug us anymore." She smirked.

"If we were to go back to Soul Society, they would probably have us fill the remaining captain positions, but we're used to doing our own thing now. So, that's all there is to it; although, even as much as he likes it here, he does want to go back someday," she said as she continued to rub Urahara's head.

"By the time that happens, maybe even I'll be a captain! Kurosaki-kun and Sado-kun too! Then there won't be anymore spots to fill!" Orihime joked. "That way you two could be happy here forever!" Yoruichi and even Urahara, who was supposedly sleeping, smiled.

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

* * *

**9:00 p.m.- Orihime's Apartment**

Orihime finished setting up their futons. She put Nell down in Ichigo's futon and put on a fresh pair of socks. Orihime glanced over her shoulder to make sure Ichigo wasn't there, and-

"Bloop!"

-grabbed lightly onto Nell's tiny legs.

"Squishy, squishy! Squishy, squishy!" she said as she lightly squished Nell's legs. Nell began to giggle and tried to sit up. Orihime caught her before she fell backwards, and carefully placed her back down onto Ichigo's futon. Orihime lay down on her left side, propping herself up with her arm. She put the tips of her fingers on her right hand together and brought it over Nell's face. She put her fingertips on Nell's nose, causing her to go cross-eyed, and quickly opened it in front of Nell's face.

"EXPLOSION!"

Nell laughed again as Orihime closed her hand into a fist.

"Close, o-pen, close, o-pen…"

Orihime repetitively closed and opened her hand in front of her baby's face. _"She's entertained by such little things."_ Orihime thought to herself as Nell grabbed onto her mom's fingers. Ichigo walked into the room, rubbing his towel on his head to remove the excess water. Orihime felt his presence as he walked into her room, and looked up at him. He sat in her futon.

"What are you doing?"

"Playing with Nell." Orihime smiled as Nell continued to reach for her mom's fingers, successfully grabbing them on occasion. "Her hands are so tiny… and squishy. It's cute!"

"You have pretty tiny hands too, Inoue." Ichigo joked with a tiny smile on his face.

"My hands aren't that small." She pouted and extended them into front of Ichigo's face. "See?"

Ichigo brought his hand up to hers. "Let's compare then." He lightly placed his onto hers. The rough texture of his skin melted against her soft, delicate hands. Orihime blushed madly. She quickly withdrew her hand, and sat up with her hands in her lap.

"You're right, mine's pretty small." She laughed and rubbed the back of her head. "Umm, I already gave Nell a bath in the sink while you were taking a shower. So all we need to do is feed her again, and she should be out in a matter of minutes…" She looked up at Ichigo, who looked clueless about her reaction to their touch. "I'm going to take my shower then." Orihime quickly got up and left her room.

When she returned, the pinkish hue in her cheeks now gone, she smiled. Ichigo lay sprawled out in her futon with Nell on his chest, one hand clutching her to ensure she didn't slip off. The two appeared to be sleeping quite comfortably. Orihime quietly fixed Nell's crib as they slept soundly. As she slowly picked Nell off his chest, Ichigo woke up. He sat up in her futon, still in a bit of a daze, while Orihime put Nell into her crib. She turned around and jumped back slightly. She had not realized her was awake.

Ichigo got up and fixed the futon he had fallen asleep in and walked over to the light switch. Orihime got into her newly made futon as he flipped the switch off and crawled into the futon next to hers.

"Hey Kurosaki-kun." Orihime turned her head to look at him. He was still gazing ahead.

"Yeah?"

"What were you like when you were a baby?"

"What?"

"What were you like when you were a baby? You said you used to smile a lot."

"Well, I guess that's it really. I don't really remember anything, except…"

"Except…?"

"I remember my mom… and she was the reason I smiled." Orihime couldn't see his expression, but she could somehow tell… he was smiling.

"That's sweet," she said, bringing her covers up to her chin.

"I guess. What about you Inoue?"

"I don't remember much, really. But, according to me brother… I wasn't allowed to cry."

"What?" Ichigo finally turned his head to look at Orihime, but she turned away and looked at the ceiling.

"My mother was a whore. My father was abusive. They both were. My brother said that whenever I cried, they would hit me… until I stopped."

Ichigo was at a loss of words. He just looked at her, she had no expression of sadness or angry at all. She turned her head to face him with a smile on her face. "But, I turned out fine, right? So how was the new shinigami?" Ichigo looked away. He couldn't stand to see her smile after telling such a sad tale. "She seems fine," was all he replied. Orihime looked away as well.

The two were lost in their own thoughts.

But then they remembered something.

"… _the General Commander has ordered a temporary alleviation of your shinigami representative duties."_

Orihime bit her lip. _"So does that mean-"_

"Kurosaki-kun, are you-"

"Inoue, I think I might-"

They both stopped talking. _Was he going to leave now that he has no reason to stay? _

"Go ahead."

"No, you go first, Kurosaki-kun."

"Okay. Umm, I think I might… is it alright if…" He furrowed his brow. He didn't know how to say it. "The reason why I was staying here in the first place was so that Nell would be watched at all times, but now that the new shinigami is here, and she seems to be doing a pretty awesome job…"

Orihime started to get anxious.

"But, I was wondering if I could still stay here."

_Or was there a new reason to stay?_

A weight was lifted off of her chest. "Y-yeah. You can still stay here, Kurosaki-kun." Orihime smiled.

"Thanks, Inoue. Good night."

"Good night, Kurosaki-kun."

* * *

So Ichigo's gonna continue to live Orihime. Sweet, huh? :D It's so hard having so much dialogue going on. Blah. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I hope you liked Urahara's explanation. So cute! Sorry Tatsuki and Ishida didn't stay very long, I just didn't want to put in more dialogue. Boooooo. Hmm, this chapter kind of flew by didn't it? Oh well.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next one's going to be good, I promise. Although, I'm pretty sure most of you will hate me afterwards. Hmm, and I'll try to not work on the next chapter in the wee hours of the morning. I've been staying up freakishly late just to write chapter 2 and chapter 3, so my normal 'mojo' is quite off!

**Chapter 4: Parent Playtime  
**_Ichigo and Orihime finally have a day off of parenting. Will things get hot and heavy, or wet and cold? Read the next chapter to see how the story unfolds._


	5. Chapter 4: Parent Playtime

Hey there, everyone! Glad to see I'm not dead? Haa. Sowrie it took so long to post up this chapter, but when you read it, you'll see why it took so long. This chapter doubled the amount I usually write! I considered breaking it up into two, but I like it better when it's meshed all together! Also, the last couple of weeks has been mid-term. That means tests, tests, test, a paper or two, and some more tests!!!! Damn! But do not fear, I don't have any tests for the next two weeks. I'm hoping to finish the next chapter by Thanksgiving weekend, just to let you all know. :D

I'm warning you now, there is a dream sequence in the beginning of this chapter, and I must say it is quite weird. Why is it so weird? I actually dreamt it for real. Cool, huh? Not really. XD

But I've got to say, I really tried to put a lot into this chapter. I tried to make it funny, romantic, sexy, and just... a good story. So I really hope that you guys enjoy it! I really want to hit over 100 reviews by the end of this entire story, but we'll see if that happens. It's possible right? Oh well. And just for fun, I have three quotes in this chapter: two are from Forgetting Sarah Marshall (see it if you haven't yet) and from the Bleach manga itself. :D Hope you guys find them and point them out! Also, the outfits Ichigo and Orihime are wearing are from official pictures and what not. I'm pretty sure most of you have seen them. XD

-Random Thought-

For the date part, listen to "Bruises" by Chairlift. It sets the mood, methinks. :D

**Warning: Rating for this chapter has been bumped up to "M". **

* * *

**One Week Later- Saturday- March 8th: Week 4**

**8:00 a.m.**

_Beep. Beep. Beep. _

She twitched at the sound of the alarm.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

She turned to her side as the alarm continuously rang. With heavy eyelids, Orihime turned her head and managed to open her eyes ever so slightly. Ichigo lay next to her, unmoving.

_B-beep. B-beep. B-beep._

She rolled onto her back, and rubbed her face in a futile attempt to wake up. The incessant beeping of the alarm rang in her ears as she began to hoist herself up. Her body felt heavy, her arms felt heavy, her eyelids felt heavy. As she began to sit up in her futon, Orihime was pushed back down. She grunted at the sudden contact.

"Sorry, Inoue, but go back to bed."

She heard Ichigo's muffled voice as the beeping in her ears stopped. Orihime scrunched her face when he turned off the alarm and opened her eyes once again. She began to push herself back up, but was lightly pushed back down again.

"Go back to bed, Inoue. I'll take care of it."

With his hands pinning her down to her futon by her shoulders, Ichigo took the lack of movement from the sleepy beauty as a sign of agreement. He watched as her eyes slowly closed and her chest rise and fall. Ichigo quickly got up and checked on Nell. Their baby girl somehow managed to remain fast asleep in her crib. _"Strange,"_ he thought, "_she's sleeping so peacefully."_ Ichigo turned his attention back to Orihime, who had fallen back into a deep sleep. He knelt beside her and pulled her comforter up to her shoulders.

Since their monthly meeting with their nakama, Ichigo and Orihime finally began taking care of Nell with minimal distractions. Although they decided to alternate who would take care of Nell for the entire night, the two were up late every night studying for multiple tests during the week. Last night, the only night they had to get a good night's rest all week, was Orihime's turn. It turned out to be one of _those_ nights. Although Ichigo offered to help her each time she got up with a delayed reaction, Orihime blatantly denied his requests.

After he finished tucking her in, Ichigo got up and began digging through one of his drawers. He pulled out a random outfit and took off his sleeping shirt. With shirt in his hand, Ichigo looked back down at the clearly passed out Orihime. He deliberated with himself for a moment, and decided it to be safe. Ichigo pulled down his pajama pants and tossed his shirt onto a nearby chair. He let pajamas fall to the floor and stepped out of them as he grabbed a pair of pants.

"Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime mumbled with eyes closed.

Ichigo jumped slightly and quickly shoved his feet into his pants.

"Change behind the screen…" she mumbled again as she turned onto her belly, pulling her sheets up to her cheeks. Ichigo glanced at the bundled up Orihime as he slowly pulled up his pants. Ichigo furrowed his brow and cocked his head to the side with wonder. _Was she really still sleeping? _He shrugged it off and finished changing.

Half-asleep, Orihime heard Ichigo change next to her. But, she didn't care- nor she did care to sneak a peek. All Orihime cared about was drowning out some of the noise. She thought about telling him to change behind the screen, not realizing she was indeed talking out-loud, as she turned onto her belly, drawing her warm comforter up to her face. She heard him finish changing, pack up some things, and leave the room. With the sound of the apartment door shut and lock, Orihime smiled, happy to finally get some peace and quiet. _Who would've thought that the most blissful girl in the world could become cranky from a crying baby and a bit of sleep deprivation?_

Her smile slowly faded. The silence brought no comfort to her ears. Instead, the pulsing in her temples could be heard, making the throbbing between her eyes even more unbearable. Orihime lay on her stomach, bundled in her comforter, tired as can be, but unable to sleep. The throbbing between her eyes continued, worsening with every passing minute of silence. She squinted her eyes and buried her face into her pillow. Orihime tensed up out of frustration, but slowly relaxed after realizing that would not help. She drew her sheets over her head and finally let her mind wander.

"_I wonder if Kurosaki-kun is okay…"_

And with that simple thought, Orihime's mind drifted off into the black abyss called sleep.

Although her mind was at rest, her body was very much awake. She felt every muscle spasm, every time her body twitched. She felt herself breathing, her heart pounding in her chest against the squishy futon, and even the drool that trickled down from the corner of her mouth onto her pillow. Orihime felt when her apartment door opened and closed, when her bedroom door slid open and shut, when the light footsteps approached her futon- and she definitely felt the large thud as Ichigo plopped back into his futon.

Orihime twitched at the thud, slightly peeved when a bit of her comforter slightly compressed from some weight. _"Greet him, Orihime! Greet him!" _she said to herself in her dream; but, she lay there, unmoving.

After her inner-dream self pestered her enough, Orihime turned to her left to lay supine. But, she was met with resistance. She pulled on her sheets, but they did not move. She pulled harder, only to have it move not even an inch. Orihime threw the free part of her comforter off her head as she sat up. She cracked her eyes open ever so slightly as she felt around for whatever was weighing down her sheets. She felt an arm.

Her eyes popped open as she grabbed Ichigo's elbow. She smiled and laughed to herself as she looked at the man she loved. Ichigo- dressed in purple pants with black pinstripe, a yellow shirt, and an olive green jacket- lay on his belly, completely sprawled out onto his futon and slightly into hers. His head rested near Orihime's futon, his shoulder at the edge of her futon and his right arm was lazily plopped onto her sheets. Orihime lightly grabbed his elbow with her left hand, her right hand grabbing his, and shifted his arm under her comforter.

Orihime, about to retract her hand from his, jumped when Ichigo tightened his grip.

"Did I wake you up, Inoue?" Ichigo asked with a guttural voice as he lifted and turned his head towards Orihime, his eyes still shut.

"No, but did I wake you?" She lay down on her side, still holding onto Ichigo's hand since he did not loosen his grip. Ichigo shook his head, and Orihime smiled as she pulled her sheets over them both. She looked at the orange-haired teen as he plopped his head back down.

"Welcome home, Kurosaki-kun."

"Thanks." Ichigo opened his eyes a bit and looked at Orihime.

"What do you want to do now, now that Nell's gone?"

Ichigo grinned with sheepish eyes. "Sleep past noon."

Orihime smiled and rested her head on her pillow. She shifted closer to Ichigo and drew their hands towards her cheek. She watched as Ichigo's grin went back to his normal frown as he fell back asleep. Her eyes slowly closed, and she finally got the sleep she deserved.

_Now presenting Crime Scene Investigator, Kurosaki Ichigo! His keen eye has led to the discovery of many case breaking clues, but his intuition sucks occasionally. Can he solve his toughest case yet?! CSI Kurosaki-kun, have you gotten any clues yet? He does not turn to me, but stares intently at the seemingly depressed young female individual doing back-flips off wooden decks. He approaches her cautiously, flashing his lab tag at her. The little girl stands up on a bench near the edge of wooden deck in the middle of the flooded city in order to reach Kurosaki-kun's height. She punches him smack dab in the face and in the stomach repeatedly before doing a back flip over the railing into the flooded city. She climbs onto a near by Jet Ski. "After her!" Kurosaki-kun ordered the police men. But alas, they have no Jet Skis! Kurosaki-kun and I back flip off of the wooden deck and land on magically appearing Jet Skis. We chase after her, dodging the flotsam nearby. We chase after her. We're closing in on her- but she jumps a ramp and goes through an alternate dimension! We jump through as well only to find ourselves in Soul Society. We are greeted by an angry mob. We run around until we reach Seireitei and find Rukia. She grabs us and throws us under a table, telling us to be quiet. Surely they can still see us right? NO! They pass right by! SCORE!!! Rukia tells us that Ichimaru Gin is protecting the little girl. We need to find them both, but he has gained a new power. We find him walking around inside his main living quarters and we try to sneak up on him. But no! His new power is devastating: he obliterates anything he sees when he looks out of a window! Kurosaki-kun, don't get up yet. Kurosaki-kun, don't get up yet. KUROSAKI-KUN, DON'T GET UP YET! He stood up as Ichimaru Gin looked out the window…_

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!"

Orihime screamed as she sat up in her futon. She clutched her cheeks as she screamed. "Kurosaki-kun!!!"

Ichigo flipped onto his back, clutching his pillow.

"Wha- are we under attack?!"

Orihime immediately stopped screaming and brought her hands to her sides as she quickly turned her head to look at Ichigo with wide-eyes.

"What's wrong, Inoue?!"

She looked confused. Suddenly, she smiled and brought her fist into the palm of her hand. "Oh, it was just a dream!" She rubbed the back of her head and laughed. Ichigo, slightly annoyed, grunted and fell back onto his futon, covering his head with his pillow- he really wanted to finish his dream. Orihime furrowed her brow out of concern. "I'm sorry for waking you up like that, Kurosaki-kun…" she said softly, clutching onto her night dress.

"It's alright." He replied, pillow still covering his head. _"Maybe it was better that I woke up… I should be having those kinds of dreams…"_ He sat up Indian style and placed his pillow onto his lap in order to cover… something. His cheeks turned slightly pink at the thought of his dream. Orihime looked at Ichigo, eyes full of curiosity. "You look a bit flushed, Kurosaki-kun. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He wanted to change the subject. "What time is it?"

Orihime stretched as she got up and walked over to her clock. "It's 1:30," she said while walking back to her futon, rubbing her eyes. Ichigo laid back down with legs still crossed and pillow in his lap. With arms supporting his head, he watched as Orihime passed by. She laid on her belly, close to him, and propped her head up with her hands. "So, it's passed noon! What do you want to do now, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked cheerfully while swinging her feet.

"Well… I dunno. What do you wanna do?"

"I dunno! It's been so long since I've had a free weekend… what do you normally do Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo scratched his head. "I either fight hollows, save the world, or catch up on my schoolwork. But since we had all those tests this week, we really don't have much studying to do…What about you?"

"The same as you." She replied with a smile. "But, I also go to Tatsuki-chan's house or something."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"…"

"…"

"So… what do you want to do now, Inoue?"

"Um…"

_Awkward silence._

While Orihime was deep in thought, Ichigo lay on his back feeling extremely uncomfortable. It was so _hard_ for him, having Orihime lying by his side. He clutched onto the pillow which seemed to move on its own _(if you catch my drift XD)_. Suddenly, Orihime gasped, slightly startling Ichigo who was consumed within his own thoughts. "I know what we can do!" she said cheerfully, "or what I can do, at least."

"What's that?" Ichigo asked, slightly peeved that she wanted to go off on her own when it was _their_ day off.

"I need to go to the Shopping Center to get some stuff for Nell and to get some food. I don't know if you'd want to come, but… we could walk around and stuff…?" Ichigo frowned. Orihime took notice and began to twiddle her fingers. "But if you don't want to…"

"_Shopping?"_ Ichigo made a face. _"But for Inoue…? Sure, why not?"_ He glanced at the girl and grinned. "I'll go with you." Her face lit up with joy.

"Really?!"

"Yeah."

Ichigo watched as her face turned into a daydreaming daze. Then, her stomach growled. Orihime blushed at the noise from her stomach, and began rolling around in their futons. "You didn't hear a thing!" She punched herself in the gut. "See, I'm totally fine." She finally stopped rolling around and landed on Ichigo's arm. She opened her eyes and stared directly into… his armpit. She looked up, blushing even harder. Ichigo felt heat rise into his cheeks as she looked up at him.

Then his stomach growled.

Ichigo blushed and brought the pillow up to his stomach to drown out the rumbling in his tummy. Orihime snickered, and then they both began to laugh. Orihime sat up. "So, I guess you hungry too?" Ichigo nodded. "Hmm, I go cook something really quick then." Ichigo furrowed his brow.

"I liked those pancakes you made on Christmas, Inoue," he said, trying to convince her to make something normal.

"Really?!" Orihime perked up. "I'll make some more then!" She promptly got up as Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief. As she exited the bedroom, Orihime muttered under her breath.

"Now I can try out the wasabi pancakes with leeks in it!"

Ichigo cringed and quickly sat up. He walked briskly towards Orihime who already took out all the materials.

"On second thought, why don't I get us some breakfast? It's our day off, you shouldn't cook."

Orihime put a finger to her chin, cocked her head to the side, and thought about it. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Ichigo quickly got his wallet and proceeded to head out the door. "Wait, Kurosaki-kun!!!" He halted at the door and turned to look at her. She came up to him with a large grin.

"Kurosaki-kun, I think you might want to change before you leave."

He looked down at what he was wearing.

"Yeah, you're right…"

* * *

"Inoue, are you ready yet?" Ichigo hollered out from the living room. Two hours had passed since they woke up and she still wasn't ready to go. "Y-yeah, I'm almost finished," she replied from within their bedroom. Ichigo walked over to the doorway and rested his forehead on the door. "Are you at least dressed? I need to get my badge," he asked as he knocked on the door.

Suddenly, the door slid open across the top of his forehead. Ichigo covered the burning sensation with his hand.

"Aiyah! Gomen, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime reached out and removed his hand from his face to look at the burn. On her tip-toes, Orihime intently examined Ichigo's forehead. "It doesn't look too bad…"

"It'll be fine, Inoue. You finished yet?" he asked as he grabbed her wrists in order to prevent her from looking his forehead any longer.

"Yeah. Sorry it took so long. We've been so busy with school and Nell that I haven't been able to do the laundry yet."

"It's fine."

He walked in their room and found his shinigami representative badge. Orihime immediately followed and began cleaning up their futons. Ichigo turned to help his 'roommate,' noticing her light clothing.

"You're gonna wear that outside, Inoue? It's about forty degrees out there. You might want to dress warmer."

Orihime stopped what she was doing and looked at her outfit. "You think it's too light?" Ichigo glanced up at her. She was wearing a white trench coat with a scarf around her neck and knee high boots. But, there was a problem: he could see her legs. He hoped she was wearing at least a skirt underneath that trench coat.

"Yeah, your legs are showing. You'll be cold."

"Oh, I'll be fine." She waved off his concern. "A little breeze in between your knees could never hurt."

"Inoue, you should change."

She stood with hands on her hips and pouted. "But, what about you? You're only wearing two layers. At least I've got on three under my coat." Ichigo finished putting their futons and bed sheets at the top of Orihime's closet. He looked at what he was wearing and glanced back at the girl. _"I guess she's right."_

"Fine, if I change, will you?"

Orihime nodded and walked over to her dresser. She took off her boots and reached under her coat. She pulled off her skirt. Ichigo nearly had a heart attack.

"I-I-I-Inoue!"

Ichigo covered his blushing face and backed away. She looked at him, slightly confused.

"Oh! I guess I shouldn't change in front of you!" she rubbed the back of her head and laughed. "But look, it's not that bad- I also have shorts underneath! I told you I'd be fine in this." Orihime began to lift her trench coat, but Ichigo rushed over to her grabbed her hands from doing so.

"J-just change, Inoue." He couldn't look directly at her, he was blushing too much.

"Okay…" Orihime quickly took off her shorts, reached into the drawer, pulled out a pair of jeans and slipped them on. She pulled out another pair of jeans, a black shirt, a red-orange sweater vest, and a red trench coat from the dresser and closet, and headed towards the screen. Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Here you go, Kurosaki-kun!"

His head snapped up.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Here, change behind the screen. I picked out your outfit since you were so adamant about me changing." She grinned as she handed him the outfit she chose. Ichigo obediently followed Orihime's directions, not knowing what to say. Surely, he couldn't protest.

"_Shouldn't this be the other way around?"_ He thought as he changed behind the screen. "You finished, Inoue?" He heard her say 'yes' and proceeded to clean up the changing station. Ichigo folded up the screen and leaned it against the wall.

"Oh, that outfit looks good on you, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime said as she fixed her hair up into a side pony-tail and tucked her bangs to the side with her flower hairpins. Ichigo smiled a bit at the compliment. He turned to look at her and frowned. He wasn't happy with this outfit either. True, she wasn't showing her legs this time, but to have only a shirt and a black leather jacket over it for her upper half wasn't going to keep her much warmer.

Ichigo was about to suggest she change again, but decided to leave it be: there was no way he could win over the inner workings of Orihime's brain. Ichigo watched as she wrapped a scarf around her neck and put leg warmers over her jeans.

"You ready, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, happy that they would actually get to spend some alone time together. Ichigo nodded as he wrapped a scarf around his neck.

It was the beginning of their first date. :D

* * *

Orihime followed behind Ichigo as they walked towards the Karakura Shopping Center. She walked with her hands in her jacket pockets, shivering uncontrollably. Ichigo took notice and slowed his pace. He glanced back at Orihime and saw her remove her hands from her pockets. She rubbed her hands together and blew hot air onto them as she walked-

-right into Ichigo.

"You're still dressed too light," he said as she looked up at him, ready to apologize.

"I'm fine," she said as she rubbed her hands together again, "I just need to get used to the temperature."

Ichigo watched as she continued to shiver.

"Here…"

He cupped her hands with his own and rubbed them together. Ichigo drew their hands closer to his face and puffed hot air onto her hands.

"Better?" he asked with a feeling of satisfaction.

Orihime no longer felt cold. Her body burned, her cheeks felt hot, and her face went red. She withdrew her hands from his and returned them into her pockets. "Yup! I'm perfectly fine now!" She turned away from Ichigo and walked at a hurried pace, quickly reaching a nearby intersection. "We cross right here, right?!" she asked, already crossing the street.

"Oi, Inoue! Look out!"

Ichigo quickly ran to Orihime and grabbed her by her wrist. He pulled her into his arms as a speeding car passed by.

"Watch where you're driving, asshole!!!" He hollered after the driver, clutching onto the flabbergasted Orihime. She looked up at him as he continued his tirade against the distant driver. "It's okay, Kurosaki-kun. It was my fault," she said, still shivering. He raised an eyebrow and loosened his grip.

"You're still cold?"

"No…" she lied. "I'm shaking because I was almost hit by a car."

"I guess…" Although her logic made sense, he still didn't believe her. "Here, just in case." Ichigo reached out to grab Orihime's hands. She tried to retaliate, but he was too quick. Orihime closed her eyes at their contact and turned her head away. His touch was making her warmer, alright.

"Better?" he asked again.

"Eh?" Orihime looked down at her hands. Ichigo bound her wrists together with his scarf and tightly wrapped her hands together as well. Ichigo smirked as he turned and began to walk away.

"K-Kurosaki-kun?!"

Orihime chased after him, hands bound together. "Wha- what's this for?" she asked, shoving her hands into his face.

"It'll keep you warm," he replied as they continued to walk.

"But, I'm fine…" she said softly.

Orihime lowered her hands, and pouted as they walked side by side. She tried to loosen the knot, but to no avail. Glancing up at Ichigo, who looked utterly pleased, Orihime continued to fiddle with the knot as she described her crazy dream. Ichigo listened being slightly intrigued at the role he played within her dream, but let his mind wander back to his own. The faint tint of pink rose to his cheeks as Orihime asked what he dreamt about. She took notice to the change of color on his face as he replied 'Nothing like your dream.'

"Are you cold, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at Orihime.

"Are you cold?" she repeated.

"No, I'm fine."

"Oh, okay." She looked down at her hands. "Here, Kurosaki-kun. Take your scarf back, just in case you really are cold." She extended her unbound hands and held out his scarf. Ichigo did a double-take.

"When did you do that?" he asked, taking back his scarf.

"When we were walking," she replied, grinning ear-to-ear. Orihime suddenly halted her steps as they neared the Karakura Shopping Center. With eyes wide and mouth agape, she simply said, "Wow…"

Ichigo looked up at what she was staring at as he wrapped the knitted garment around his neck. The shopping center was completely flooded with people, various rides and mini booths were set up around the mall.

"What's going on, Kurosaki-kun?"

"It looks like a fair or some charity event."

"Do you want to go check it out, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime looked completely ecstatic. "It'll be better than walking around the mall!"

Ichigo smiled at her enthusiasm. "Alright, let's go."

The two made their rounds around the fair, stopping occasionally at certain booths. After playing some carnival games that are impossible to win at, the two rested at a bench. "I'm thirsty, you want anything?" Ichigo said as he got up. Orihime glanced up at him, hands in her lap, and smiled. "I'll have whatever you're having."

"Okay, stay here. I'll get it for us."

He quickly turned, catching a glimpse of Orihime's content expression before he walked away. He glanced back at her, intrigued to know if she was still watching him.

She wasn't.

Orihime sat on the bench, leaning forward with her arms tucked between her thighs, staring intently to her left. She bit her lip and twiddled her fingers. She furrowed her brow and scrunched her face, debating whether or not he'd be interested. Orihime glanced back to Ichigo, who quickly looked away and hid amongst the crowd. _"Why the hell am I hiding?"_ he thought as he walked inside the mall to get their refreshments.

Ichigo returned to the cold outdoors and the bustling fair with two steaming hot-chocolate milks in his hands. He weaved in and out of the crowd, attempting to not spill their drinks as he walked back to Orihime. As he walked towards his destination, Ichigo looked at the area Orihime was staring so intently at. He found nothing of interest.

Although, he did find it _quite_ interesting that Orihime was gone. Ichigo stood near the bench he left her at, dumbfounded that he couldn't find her. Ichigo furrowed his brow as his eyes scanned the area. She was nowhere in sight. He felt as if something dropped into the pit of his stomach as he stood there holding their drinks. _Was she really gone?_

He glanced back over to the bench.

It suddenly hit him.

A hoard of adolescent, hormonal young men gathered around the bench. The group of guys shifted slightly to the left, then to the right, constantly blocking the view of their subject of interest. Ichigo stood on his tip-toes, searching some hint of Orihime. _"What the hell, King. Just sense if she's there, ya moron."_

Ichigo, realizing his inner hollow was right, ceased his search for _his_ subject of interest. But, as he sensed for her reiatsu, Ichigo caught a glimpse of Orihime's worried face. Their eyes locked for a brief moment, but she was quickly shifted out of view. Suddenly in tune with his surroundings, Ichigo heard one of the guys hit on her. The feeling in the pit of his stomach soon turned into a furious beating in his chest. His muscles tensed, his face felt hot. Ichigo narrowed his eyes, furrowed his brow, and grit his teeth as he jostled his way through the crowd.

"Inoue!" He angrily called out her name.

"Kurosaki-kun?!"

He reached her and stared down at the protesting young men.

"Fuck off!" Ichigo glared at the crowd as he handed Orihime her drink. "She's with me!" She merely looked at him, slightly scared of reaction. Surely, he wouldn't summon Zangetsu and slice all of their heads off, would he…?

Maybe.

The crowd slowly disbursed, some men apologizing, others scoffing and mumbling "She's too good for him" under their breaths. Ichigo ceased his death glare as they all went away, and looked at Orihime, who was still staring at him. "You okay?" he asked her. Orihime snapped out of her daze and shook her head up and down in response to Ichigo's question. "Good." Ichigo sat down and took a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime said as she sat next to Ichigo," normally, Tatsuki-chan takes care of it." She sipped her hot chocolate, and smiled at the warmth filling her belly. She took another sip before smiling contently at Ichigo.

"That usually happens to you, Inoue?"

She nodded her head as she sipped some more. Ichigo stared at his cup, annoyed at the thought of Orihime constantly being harassed. He glanced over at her through the corner of his eyes. She sat, sipping away, staring towards her left again. She felt his stares, and looked up at him with concern in her big, brown eyes.

_Shall I come save you each time then?_

Ichigo cracked a small smile. He knew that her gregarious and kind nature allowed her to be so approachable; so, he wouldn't change that for the world, even if it meant fewer guys would hit on her. "Want to walk around some more?" he asked, taking another sip of his hot chocolate. "Yeah!" The two stood up and Ichigo led them to the left, curious to figure out what Orihime was staring at.

They continued down the left area, Orihime barely glancing at any other booths or rides. She fixated on something down their path, but Ichigo still couldn't figure out what it was. Puzzled at what she so interested in, Ichigo took the last sip of his hot chocolate as they walked and quizzically scanned the area in front of him. He veered off to the side to throw away his empty cup, gesturing for Orihime to throw away hers, but she became mighty distracted.

"We have one spot open, people. You can ride alone or ride with a partner!"

Orihime's head perked up and she stared at a distant ride. She quickly threw away her empty cup and looked back at Ichigo. "Can we ride something Kurosaki-kun?" she hastily asked, biting her lip, hoping for a positive response. "Sure-" was all that escaped Ichigo's lips before Orihime quickly tugged on his arm, leading him through the crowd.

"One more spot, one more spot!!!" the ride operator continued to shout out.

"We'll take it!" Orihime yelled as she pulled Ichigo to the rickety Ferris wheel.

"_So this is what she wanted?" _Ichigo thought as the two took their seats and pulled the bar down. The ride slowly started to go around and around. Every time they reached the top of the Ferris wheel, Orihime would lean forward and then quickly sit back as the wheel continued to turn, causing their seat to rock. The ride finally slowed and stopped to let the riders off. Ichigo and Orihime sat on the ride, close to the top of the wheel. She held onto the bar, leaning forward to get a better view of the town.

"Wow, I think I can see my apartment from here!" she exclaimed. Orihime stood up slightly and pointed in the direction towards her apartment complex. The motion caused their seat to tip forward. With sweaty palms, Ichigo clutched onto the bar, his eyes fixed on the pavement below. Orihime leaned forward even more, tipping their seat even more. "Right, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked him. He didn't look up at her, but wound a hand around her waist and pulled her down.

"D-Don't stand up on the ride, Inoue," he said gripping onto the bar holding them in with one hand and clutching onto Orihime with the other.

She cocked her head to the side and grinned.

"Are you scared, Kurosaki-kun?"

"No, I just don't want you stand up on the ride, is all."

The wheel turned and the two were one spot away from the top. Ichigo tightened his grip on the bar and on Orihime. She smiled at his reaction. "It's okay to be afraid of rides, Kurosaki-kun. But it is kind of strange that you can fight hollows and jump from roof to roof and not be scared." Her smile widened, but faded into a look of concern. Deciding it best to not tease Ichigo, Orihime changed the subject.

"I kind of feel bad that we're here."

Ichigo finally loosened his grip and removed his arm from around Orihime's waist. He turned to her, uncertain what to say. "You feel bad? Are you… not having fun?"

"Oh no, no no no." Orihime turned to face Ichigo, frantically waving her arms for added emphasis. "It's not that, Kurosaki-kun; I'm having a great time. It's just…" she leaned forward on the metal bar and propped her head up as she stared onto the city. "I feel bad that we didn't bring Nell. She would have had so much fun." She turned to look at Ichigo. "Right?"

Forgetting where he was at, Ichigo leaned back to think, causing their seat to rock backwards. Orihime giggled as he frantically reached for the bar. After regaining his composure, he faced Orihime. "Yeah, but parents need some time to relax too." Orihime sat back, making the seat sway. "I guess you're right." The ride turned, and the two finally reached the top.

"Orihime!"

Orihime and Ichigo looked around, wondering who called out.

"Orihime!!!"

The voice came from below. Ichigo looked at the ground below for whoever was calling for his partner, but Orihime leaned back to look at the seat below them.

"Tatsuki-chan! Ishida-kun!"

She turned around in her seat and leaned forward making it tip back substantially, leaving Ichigo hang over the front to balance their seat out. He looked at the couple below.

"Kurosaki," was the only greeting he received.

"Sup, Ishida?"

"So it was you that I heard!" Tatsuki yelled up above. "So you guys on a family outing or on a date?"

Before they could answer, the ride moved, nearly tipping the two off of the ride. They quickly sat they way they were supposed to be sitting and nervously looked at each other. "We'll talk to you guys when we're off the ride!" Ichigo hollered out to them. Once they returned to stepping on solid ground, the two couples regrouped.

"So, I take it you're on a date since I don't see Nell." Tatsuki said as she approached them.

"Yeah, kind of." Ichigo quickly replied, noticing that Orihime was blushing and looking away.

"It would've been nice to have brought Nell, though. Sasuke's having a great time!"

"Speaking of which, how was the meeting with your father, Ishida-kun?"

Tatsuki and Ishida looked at each other with large grins on their faces. "Oh that…"

* * *

_Ishida Ryuken sat at his desk busy sorting through patient files._

_Knock knock._

_Without even a glance at the door, Ryuken ordered his guests to come into his office as he continued to look through his files. Ishida slowly came in and hesitantly approached his father. "I have something to tell you, Ryuken," Ishida nervously began before gesturing Tatsuki to come into the office. She slowly entered the room, Sasuke in her arms, and stood by Ishida's side. _

"_Ryuken, I-"_

"_What's that, Uryuu?"_

_The couple smirked mentally at the initial reaction. But, without a glance at his son or even some type hesitation while sorting through his paperwork, Ryuken killed their dream._

"_Why do you have a gigai? I thought I told you not to associate yourself with Shinigami anymore." _

_Their grinning faces dropped, and the three left the hospital, completely defeated._

* * *

"And that was the end of that." Ishida concluded while fixing his glasses.

"It really sucked," Tatsuki said as she bounced Sasuke in her arms. "Man, I wish your old man gave us a better reaction than that. But then again, if you two share the same intuition and sense of humor…"

"Then what?" Ishida asked defensively.

"Then I'm not surprised," Tatsuki replied, grinning ear-to-ear.

Ichigo attempted to suppress a snicker while Orihime smiled and awed. Ishida, unknowing whether to take her comment as a compliment or an insult, took Sasuke into his arms and simply said, "Okay." He rocked Sasuke side to side and turned to Ichigo and Orihime. "I think we should probably go," Ishida said to Tatsuki. "The lil' guy looks tired." And sure enough, Sasuke yawned on cue. Tatsuki nodded in agreement and the two couples said their goodbyes.

"Aww. I really wish we had Nell now." Orihime pouted as she watched her best friend leave.

"It'll be fine, Inoue," Ichigo said, placing a hand onto Orihime's shoulder.

He looked down at her and smiled. She didn't return the favor- nor was she even looking at him. Orihime continued to stare intently down their path. _"You serious, King? That circulating death trap wasn't what she wanted?!"_ Ichigo calmed his inner hollow as he continued his search for Orihime's subject of interest. Who would've thought that even hollows were afraid of rides…?

They continued down their path, Orihime glancing at food stands on occasion. As they neared the edge of the fair, Orihime's face lit up with joy.

He looked for what she wanted. He found it-

-and he groaned.

"_Are you serious?"_ Ichigo slapped his forehead and rubbed his face while Orihime looked up at him smiling sweetly.

"Kurosaki-kun…" she began "will you-"

His inner hollow died laughing inside.

"-go into the picture booth with me?" Orihime saw his pained expression. "But, you don't have to if you don't want too…"

Ichigo sighed and reluctantly said yes. They entered the little booth and attempted to get comfortable. The two sat next to each other, cramped together, shoulder-to-shoulder. They shifted around, Orihime now cast into the background while Ichigo dominated the frame. They shifted again, Orihime now in the forefront and Ichigo in the background, much to his liking. But, Orihime insisted they share the frame equally. He grunted and stealthily slid his arm behind the swell of her back.

Perfect.

Orihime slipped her money into the machine and sat back as the lights began to flash.

3.

2.

1.

She smiled. He frowned.

_Flash_.

She looked up at his frowning face- and mimicked his signature scowl.

_Flash._

He looked down at her mimicking him. She smiled innocently.

_Flash._

The two faced the camera, tilted their heads toward one another, and smiled.

_Flash._

The two orange-haired teens quickly exited the booth for fresh air and stretching space. Orihime reached for the freshly printed pictures and made her way over to Ichigo, who was already trying to leave the photo booth of embarrassment. She laughed as she looked at their pictures while they walked to the front of the fair. Orihime held up the photos for Ichigo to look at-

-but he felt a disturbance in the air.

He felt uneasy as his shoulder twitched. He instantly raised his arm, curled his hand into a fist, and-

"IIIIIIII-CHHHHHHHIIIIIIIII-GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

-swung into Keigo's face.

"Sup?"

Ichigo continued to walk towards the mall, but stopped when he realized Orihime wasn't following. He looked back at her. She stood over Keigo's unmoving body with a look of curiosity and concern. Ichigo, about to call out to Orihime, suddenly dashed to her rescue when a single hand grasped onto one of her enormous breasts from behind. He quickly grabbed Orihime by the shoulders and separated her from lesbian stalker, Chizuru. He stood between the two, facing Chizuru, very tempted to kick her.

"You can't hit me," the lesbian suddenly said, sensing Ichigo's murderous aura, "for I have…" She lifted her baby up to Ichigo's height. "A HUMAN SHEILD!!!"

"How low," a voice from behind said. The three turned to look at Keigo. He slowly got up from the ground and dusted himself off. "That's low, Chizuru, but it's GENIUS!" he exclaimed as he join her side. Ichigo scoffed as the two girl crazy teens chattered amongst themselves. He scowled as he examined their baby.

"You know, I've never noticed, but your guys' baby-"

"-is so cute!!!" Orihime exclaimed as she gestured to Chizuru that she wanted to hold their baby. Chizuru complied with her request and handed her baby over to Orihime. She bounced the baby girl and played with her squishy cheeks. "I was gonna say that she looks nothing like you guys." Ichigo said, finishing his interrupted sentence. Their baby girl had short light pink hair and blue-green eyes. "Plus, she's got this huge forehead."

"Hey, don't say that about Sakura-chan!" Chizuru said as she took Sakura back into her arms, her motherly instincts kicking in. Ichigo backed off, slightly regretting what he said when Orihime softly agreed with her lesbian attacker. "That _was_ kind of mean, Kurosaki-kun…"

"So what are you guys doing here?" Ichigo said, changing the subject. "You going around the fair?"

The two nodded their heads. "Yeah, we thought it'd be fun to bring Sakura-chan and have her ride some rides."

"Aww…" Orihime sighed. "Now I feel even worse. We should have brought Nell with us, Kurosaki-kun…" She squished her cheeks together and pouted.

"What are you talking about, Hime?"

"Eh?"

"Nell's here, and so is your family, Ichigo. We saw them just a few minutes ago."

"Wha?" Ichigo and Orihime looked surprised.

"Actually," Chizuru pointed behind the two confused teens," they're right over there."

They both turned around, and sure enough Ichigo's family was right behind them at a gaming booth. _"Fuck._" Ichigo thought as he turned back to Keigo and Chizuru.

"Tough luck, Ichigo. But you know what they say…" Keigo said in a sad attempt to cheer him up.

"What's that?" Ichigo asked as grit his teeth and ran a hand through his spiky hair.

"When life gives you lemons… just say 'Fuck the lemons!' and bail."

Ichigo looked at his friend, his scowl plastered on his face. He thought about it for a moment as he watched his classmates turn and walk away. _He actually might be right! _"Thanks Keigo!" Ichigo yelled after them. He turned to Orihime.

"Inoue, let's-"

But, she wasn't there.

He looked back at his family; there she was talking to them and holding Nell. Ichigo groaned as Orihime and his family waved him over. He slowly walked towards them. He really did not feel like dealing with his family today. Sure, he loved them. Sure, he would do anything to protect them, like stabbing himself in the heart with a zanpakutou. But as much as he loved his family, he enjoyed his time away from them as well- especially when he was on a date.

"Hey Ichi-nii, " Karin greeted Ichigo. "You enjoying your date with Orihime-nee-san?" She teased.

"I was," he mumbled under his breath.

"But isn't this great, Kurosaki-kun? We can bring Nell around the fair now!" Orihime interjected enthusiastically as she held her baby girl on her side.

"What?" Isshin said as he came up from behind Orihime. He joyfully wrapped an arm around the girl, pulled his son towards him, and wrapped an arm around him, pulling the two together. He whispered to them in a hushed tone as they huddled together. "You're not taking Nell."

Orihime broke from the group.

"Why not? I want to take her around."

Isshin pulled away from his son and approached Orihime. He gestured for her to give Nell to him, but she refused. "Today's your day off. Enjoy it. " He gestured again, and this time Orihime reluctantly handed Nell over. "We're watching her, so you don't need to worry. Besides, you're still young, enjoy yourself while you don't have to deal with these little munchkins for real."

Ichigo looked surprised. He knew his dad was crazy and weird, but he also knew that his dad did have a mature side. He smiled warmly at his father who held his daughter with tender and care.

"Well, then…" Orihime began.

"We should probably go and get what we need soon." Ichigo said to Orihime. He turned to his family and told them he'd pick Nell up tomorrow morning. With that, they parted ways as Orihime waved sadly to her daughter. "Let's go." Ichigo said, cocking his head in the direction of the mall. Orihime nodded, then looked towards the sky. "The sky looks darker all of a sudden," she said with a sigh as they entered the shopping center.

After an hour or so, the two finished running errands around the mall. With groceries and leftovers from the restaurant in hand, Ichigo and Orihime walked side by side as they headed home.

"Hey Kurosaki-kun."

"Hmm?"

"Do you really think that I'd be able to get into the 4th Squad?"

Ichigo turned to look at Orihime. "Yeah. Why?"

"I don't know," she said as she bit onto her thumb nail. "I mean, I don't fight much…"

"Well, I think you'll be able to get into the 4th squad, but you probably won't get a high seat since you don't like to fight. I mean your healing techniques really are awesome, but in the protection squads, you must be willing to hurt another person. " Ichigo looked intently at her reaction. Orihime sulked her shoulders and merely went," Oh…"

He knew that one of his bad-yet-good traits was his bluntness, but he never meant to hurt her with what he said. "But never know; you even might make it to the Kidō Corps."

Orihime's head perked up. "The Kidō Corps?" she asked. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, your barrier right now is pretty strong. Not to mention, you said you were going to start training under Hachi when this project was over, didn't you? Since he trained under Tessai, I'm pretty sure you'll become a lot stronger, Inoue," he replied. She looked astonished that Ichigo would even consider that she had the capacity to become _that_ strong.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun."

"No problem."

"Wait," Orihime said, suddenly stopping. "Do you feel that?"

Ichigo stopped and looked at her. "Feel what?" He looked towards the sky and felt a droplet of water fall onto his cheek. "Shit." The pellets of water came crashing down to earth at a rapid rate. The two teens dashed for some form of shelter as a heavy downpour came quickly upon them. They found refuge under a tree, both of them already chilled to the bone.

"That was quick," Ichigo said, shivering uncontrollably, as he put their bags of groceries on the ground.

"Yeah, but I'm not surprised. Did you see those clouds before we left?" Orihime asked as she turned to look at Ichigo. "Are you cold, Kurosaki-kun? Do you want my jacket?" She promptly took off her leather jacket and handed it to Ichigo. He denied it.

"I'm fine, but aren't you cold?"

"A little. The jacket kept me pretty dry actually."

The two sat under the tree as the rain continued to pour.

"Want to wait until it lets up?"

Orihime nodded her head. She sat with her knees brought up to her chest, her hands rubbing her legs in a futile attempt to keep them warm, and leaned against the tree.

"Kurosaki-kun, do you hate the rain?" she asked, out of the blue. He looked at her watching the rain fall, unsure if she knew the story of his mother's death.

"I used to."

"I…like the rain," she said as she crossed her arms on top of her knees and leaned against her legs. "It's as if the rain can unite the eternally separated earth and sky."

Ichigo leaned against the tree, legs stretched out and hands behind his head. He watched the rain fall, trying to see it from Orihime's point of view. _She was right. _Half an hour passed before another word was spoken. Ichigo got up and dusted his jacket off.

"It doesn't look like it's going to let up anytime soon," he pointed out the obvious, outstretching a hand to help Orihime up. She dusted herself off and looked down the nearby road.

"Do you want to run to my apartment?"

Ichigo nodded and took off his trench coat. "This will keep us a little dry," he said, turning to Orihime who was zipping up their groceries in her leather jacket.

"What are you doing?"

"It'll keep the food and Nell's stuff dry too."

"But doesn't water ruin leather?"

"It's synthetic, so it should be fine."

She pulled the plastic handles out from the top of her jacket and stood by Ichigo's side. He flung his coat over the both of them and looked down the street. "Ready?" he asked and the two dashed off to Orihime's apartment under his red trench coat.

"You know what I realized, Kurosaki-kun?" she said as they ran.

"What's that?"

"I could have used my Santen Kesshun to shield us from the rain."

"True, but wouldn't that have looked weird if people saw us?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Ichigo and Orihime reached their apartment almost completely soaked. Ichigo squeezed the water out of his drenched trench coat as Orihime opened the door to their home. They entered the humble abode and Orihime immediately began sorting out their groceries. Ichigo tried to help her out, but she refused.

"Don't worry about this, Kurosaki-kun. Go ahead and take a shower first," she said, hastily putting their food away.

"I'll be fine, you take a bath first."

"But, I have to do the laundry and cle-"

"Inoue, take a bath first," Ichigo ordered. "You might catch a cold."

"I'll be fine. I already told you that I have a good constitution and haven't caught a cold since I was-"

"Take a bath first." He ordered again.

Orihime stopped sorting through their groceries and sighed. She puffed up her cheeks out of frustration and looked at Ichigo.

"I'll take care of the laundry, just go first, okay?" he asked nicely this time.

Orihime obediently followed his request, kicked off her shoes, and went to the bathroom. She undressed as quickly as she could, tossing her drenched clothing onto the floor. As she was about to start the bath, she heard a knock on the door.

"Inoue," Ichigo called out.

Orihime walked over to the door, frantically searching for a towel.

"J-Just a minute, Kurosaki-kun!" she said realizing that all the towels were in the laundry basket.

"Inoue, I have a towel for you."

She breathed a sigh of relief, but it quickly passed. Realizing she was naked and needed to open the door, Orihime turned to look at the soaking wet clothes on the floor. She bit her lip, uncertain what to do.

"Can you slip it under the door?"

"What?!"

"Umm, never mind." Orihime said as she clutched onto the bathroom door handle and slowly turned it. She cracked open the door slightly, making sure her nude body remained unseen, and popped her head out the door. Ichigo handed her the towel.

"Can you give me your clothes? I'm going to start the wash."

"Sure," she happily said as she unfolded her towel and draped it over the front of her body. Orihime bent over, piled her clothes together, and scooped them up in one arm. She handed them to Ichigo and quickly shut the door. Orihime leaned against the door, head tilted upwards. Her heart couldn't be beating any faster. Realizing that the bath was going to overflow, she rushed to stop the running water and took her nice, warm bath.

Orihime took the fastest bath she could, but made sure her chilled bones warmed up. She ruffled up her hair with her towel in order to dry it faster and wrapped it up so it looked like a soft-served ice cream cone. _"Oh no,"_ she thought to herself. She had no clothes to change into. She took her hair down and wrapped the tiny towel around her voluptuous body the best she could.

The bathroom handle slowly turned and as quietly as she could, Orihime opened the door. She poked her head out once again, checking if the coast was clear. All the lights were off in the apartment except in the laundry room. Orihime held her breath, bit her lip, and tip-toed her way into her bedroom, avoiding looking within the laundry room. She quietly slid her bedroom door shut, turned on the lights, and sighed.

Orihime, feeling secure within her own bedroom, let the tiny towel drop to her hips. She loosely tied the towel around her waist, her upper half completely free. She rubbed her arms to protect herself from the chilling cold, and turned around until-

"Inoue?"

* * *

Ichigo stood in front of the bathroom door, knowing very well that he needed to give her the towel, but hesitated at the potentially embarrassing moment. He knocked on the door and called out for her.

"Inoue."

He heard some rustling, then Orihime telling him to wait a moment.

"Inoue, I have a towel for you."

He heard her sigh, then an awkward pause. Ichigo, about to knock again due to the silence, was taken aback when the she asked him to slip the towel under the door.

"What?!" he immediately asked. Only a slight murmur telling him 'never mind' was heard. Ichigo watched as the doorknob slowly turned and the door open slightly. Orihime poked her head out.

"Can you give me your clothes? I'm going to start the wash." Ichigo asked as she quickly grabbed her towel. "Sure," she replied. He heard some rustling as he stood waiting for Orihime to gather her clothes. Noticing that Orihime left her bathroom door open, Ichigo averted his eyes to the hinges on the door. Instead, he got an eye full of what he wanted to avoid being tempted to see.

Through the crack, Ichigo watched as Orihime bent over and gathered her clothes, her backside completely exposed since she draped and clutched the towel over only her chest. He watched in the mirror through the crack as she turned to give him the clothes. He quickly looked away and took her soaking clothes into his arms as she quickly shut the door. Ichigo stood there, dumbfounded and red in the face at what he just saw.

Instinctively, Ichigo attempted to block naughty thoughts from his mind as he went into the laundry room. Almost robot-like, Ichigo threw Orihime's clothes into the washer and dumped the remaining laundry in as well without sorting through the colors.

"_I need to change…"_ he thought as he tossed all the clothes in. He listened for Orihime to stop the running water before he took off his shirts. He looked down, debating whether or not he should…

He should.

Ichigo took off his jeans and threw them into the wash. His eyes wandered south before he stripped down completely.

"_It should be safe right?"_ he thought to himself as he set the timer on the washing machine after tossing in his boxers. Once the machine started to go, Ichigo poked his head out of the laundry room. Leaving the lights on in the room, Ichigo briskly walked in the nude into Orihime's room without turning the lights on. He searched through his drawers and quickly changed into a clean shirt and pajama pants.

"_Going commando, King?"_

"_I'll put them on after my bath."_

"_And how are you going to hide that one-eyed thing that was staring at us earlier?"_

"_It'll go away."_

"_Pssh, whatever you say King."_

Ichigo looked around Orihime's room, his eyes adjusting to the dark. Deciding to keep himself busy, Ichigo cleaned up their room and set up their futons. He laid down in his, a single arm behind his head, the other on his stomach. His body was more tired and sore than he thought. He laid there, eyes fluttering from dream to reality.

He heard the distant door open and close, he heard tip-toeing footsteps come closer to the room, he heard as the bedroom door slowly shut.

He snapped back to reality as the lights turned on.

Ichigo listened to Orihime sigh before opening his eyes. He squinted from the bright light and sat up in the futon. "Inoue?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. He opened them, getting another eye full. Orihime stood over him, her towel wrapped loosely around her waist, her bare breasts in plain sight. She crossed her arms over her chest and shrieked.

"K-K-K-K-Kurosaki-kun?!"

"I-I-I-Inoue?!"

Ichigo sat in awe at what he just saw. _"Damn, they are more perfect bare…"_ He quickly shook his head at the thought and shielded his eyes, a tiny gap in between his fingers, as she turned around in the corner of her room.

"I didn't see anything, I swear, Inoue!"

"O-okay, just get out."

Ichigo promptly got up, grabbed a clean pair of boxers and left the room. Orihime slammed the door shut as soon as he stepped out, still clutching at her chest. _"He didn't see anything, did he?!"_

"_Damn, I saw it all,"_ he thought as he slammed the bathroom door shut. His mind unwillingly replayed the scene over and over again, freezing at the half-naked Orihime. Ichigo started his bath and stripped down completely. _"Dammit, and it was about to go away too,"_ he thought, looking downwards. _"It's not healthy having one for so long." _Ichigo rubbed his face, ran a hand through his hair, and roughly scratched his head, not knowing what to do.

"_There are two ways to get rid of it, King."_

"_I'm not going to-"_

"_If don't use it, you abuse it."_

"_I'm not going to put my P in a V right now."_

"_Oh come on, she's right there! You need to B your L on her T's!"_

"_Shut the fuck up."_

"_Fine then!" Hi_s inner hollow gave up out of frustration. _"Do it the boring way, you pussy."_

Ichigo turned off the faucet and got into the warm bath. He took a _very_ long bath, to ensure Orihime was sleeping and had enough time to cool down from the revealing event, of course. Once he finished "cleaning" himself, he changed and got ready for bed. Nervous about Orihime's reaction, Ichigo looked out the bathroom door before setting foot in the living room. Thinking it best to keep himself busy for a while, he went into the laundry room to finish the task he started.

Realizing Orihime had done the rest of the laundry while he was in the bath, Ichigo swallowed hard before entering their bedroom. He knocked, just in case. Assuming she was sleeping from the lack of response, Ichigo quietly slid open their bedroom door. He shut it just as quietly and turned around. Orihime was laying in her futon, dressed in her green night dress. You know the one that clung to the right places.

She lay fast asleep on her side, half covered with her comforter. Ichigo kneeled next to her, about to cover her with her sheets, when he noticed her hair was still wet.

He looked at her, wondering if he should…

"Inoue," he said softly into her ear.

She didn't even stir.

"Inoue," he said more forcefully this time. "Wake up. You're really going to catch a cold if you sleep with your hair wet." He placed a hand on her shoulder to shake her awake. She felt cold, but her body reacted against his warm skin. A shiver went down both their spines at the contact, and he felt compelled to touch her more.

Completely entranced by the sensation which coursed throughout his entire body, Ichigo lightly ran his hand down her arm, leaving goose bumps at the areas he touched. He ran his hand on top of hers and enlaced their fingers together. Lying next to Orihime, he tightened his grip, breathing hotly against her neck. They both burned.

"Kuro…saki…kun…"

Ichigo jerked at Orihime calling out his name in her sleep. With hands intertwined together, he propped himself up with his left arm and hovered over her. He let go of their hands and slid his hand across her waist as she turned to look over her shoulder. Eyes slightly opened, Orihime looked at Ichigo.

"Kurosak-"

He pressed his lips hard against hers, running his hand along her side to make her lay on her back. Once supine, Ichigo shifted his weight, pressing harder against her lips. He slowly parted from their kiss, leaving a completely stunned Orihime to lie underneath him. Unsure if she was still dreaming, Orihime looked up at Ichigo, wide-eyed and confused.

"Kurosaki-kun?"

Propped up with his left arm, he lay on top of her and slid his arm under the swell of her back. Ichigo looked into her eyes and gravitated towards her. He slowly approached her lips and lightly kissed her this time, waiting for a deeper invitation. She melted into his arms and lightly kissed him back.

They parted.

Looking into each others eyes, they both burned. Their hearts pounded rapidly in their chests, their cheeks became flushed.

And they both wanted more.

They locked lips yet again. His arm still under the swell on her back, Ichigo straddled himself between her legs, pulling her closer into him as he lightly pecked on Orihime's bottom lip. She returned the favor, sucking and licking his as her hands traveled their way up his muscular arms and onto his back. She ran a hand through his spiky orange hair and pulled him down to deepen their kiss. He parted their lips with his tongue and let it explore inside Orihime's mouth. He pulled away, giving her quick pecks on the lips before kissing his way to her cheek.

Orihime's eyes fluttered and back arched as Ichigo made his way down to her neck. He kissed on it, licked on it, sucked on it before moving on to her collar bone. All the meanwhile, Orihime enjoyed the sensations Ichigo sent through her, and she showed it. She tilted her head, granting him better access to her neck. She ran her hands though his hair, occasionally moving them to clutch onto his back. She allowed him to slip his hands along her sides, underneath her shirt.

Ichigo kissed his way back up to Orihime's lips before going any farther. They parted, but they craved more. Ichigo looked at her, and she nodded her head. He slipped his arm behind her back and pulled her to sit up. He swiftly removed her shirt. _"Damn,"_ he thought, disappointed that she was wearing a bra underneath. Ichigo lightly laid Orihime back down.

_More._

She clutched onto the bottom of his shirt as he sat up, straddled between her legs. She ran a hand underneath his shirt, exploring his midsection. Ichigo took the hint and peeled off his button-up shirt.

_More._

He crawled back on top of Orihime, kissing her passionately. She let her hands explore his body, touching, feeling, memorizing every muscle, every scar.

_More._

Ichigo kissed his way to her ear and began nipping at it. She tingled all over as he licked and sucked on her earlobe, making her arch her back. His hands slid underneath her back, searching for her bra strap, as he kissed his way down to her collarbone yet again.

_More. _

They both hungered for more as he kissed his way to her breasts.

"_Alright, King!" _His inner hollow shouted in the back of his mind. _"Go get yours!"_

Ichigo stopped dead.

He let go of her bra strap and propped himself up with both arms. He looked down at Orihime. There she was, in her bra, arms outstretched over her head. She looked down at him, cheeks flushed, love and lust in her eyes. Her dark orange haired sprawled out beneath her cream colored complexion. _Damn, she looks beautiful._

He hovered over her, looking intently into her eyes.

"Kuro-"

"I can't."

Ichigo got off of her and sat by her feet. Utterly surprised, Orihime lay there completely…lost. She sat up and looked at Ichigo.

"I can't." He repeated as he grabbed his shirt, turned away, and sat, back towards Orihime. She looked at him, hand at her chest. Something gripped at her heart.

"I-It's okay, Kurosaki-kun." She began as he unbuttoned his sleeping shirt and slipped it on. It gripped tighter in her chest. "I love you. So it's okay…"

"That's just it, Inoue," he said, sitting cross-legged, shirt hanging open, facing away from the woman confessing her love to him. "I don't… I don't know if I love you back." The words stung in his throat as he said them. He heard her shift about, he heard he clutch her chest, he heard her grab her shirt and expected her to run out of the room, possibly crying.

Instead, he felt her presence behind him.

He sat there slouched over as she sat behind him.

He sat there as she placed a hand against his back.

He sat there as she leaned her forehead against him.

"I-I understand, Kurosaki-kun." The words choked out of her mouth. "It's better that you stopped us…before we did something we would both regret." She clutched the shirt in her left hand against her chest as she sat behind him.

He felt her hand clutch into a fist.

He felt her press her face into his back.

He felt her tears stain the back of his shirt.

He felt like shit.

* * *

I know, I know. How mean. How cruel. But you know what? I thought it'd be interesting to shy away from the normal "they go on a date and end up having awesome sex." And so, this is what I've come up with. I will allow harsh comments or whatever, seeing if I pissed you off or made you sad, then I've done my job right. Just please no, "I FUCKING HATE YOOOOOOU. THIS STORY IS A PIECE OF SHIIIIIIITTTT!!!!!!!!1111111"

Please, none of that. Thank you!

So did you find the three quotes? I hope so. :D And oh yeah, doesn't Chizuru and Keigo's daughter look familiar? Hmm... -coughs...Naruto...coughs-

Man, I always want to write a buttload of author's comments at the beginning and at the end of a chapter, but I always forget what I want to say. I just really hope that you guys enjoy this chapter and that I don't lose any fans because of it. DX But, if I get a "good" turnout, then I might consider doing an epilogue. And if I do decide to do an epilogue, I _might_ make it a lemon. Give me your guys' opinion! Anyways, back to the story!

**Next Chapter: Gangster Grinning, Hollow Hauntings**

_The finale. No other details to be given. Sit and wait my monkeys! :P_


	6. Chapter 5: Gangster Grinning

Sooo, I can safely say that I am not dead, but I'm pretty sure that most of you want to kill me by now. I know I promised to have this up by the end of Thanksgiving break, and I know I said that I wanted to have this whole story finished by the end of 2008... but so much for that! .

But, to those of you who didn't like the sexual themes in the previous chapter, I'm not going to apologize for putting that stuff in there since of course, that's the way I wanted it to be. I am, however, quite **grateful** for those who nicely voiced their opinions and expressed their concern for me to not make a lemon without calling my story trashy. -ahem ahem- I am quite sad that someone called my story trashy, in fact. That's just mean man, just plain mean. I put up a warning that the rating went up for that chapter for a reason you know...

Oh well, I am very pleased that you all liked the ended of the last chapter though. Someone even said that they almost cried - coughs... copper...coughs- But you know what? I cried while I was writing it. Sad, ne? Oh yeah, you all are in for a huge surprise at the end. Enjoy! :D

Oh yeah, I don't plan on updating until I hit... 110 reviews. It is possible, right?

Disclaimer: Yadda yadda yadda. You know what goes here.

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Five Days Later- Thursday- March 13th: Week 5

"You what?!"

"He kissed me-"

"He what?!"

Tatsuki slammed her hands on the table while Orihime sat on her feet, fiddling her hands in her lap.

"No way?! He kissed you?!" Tatsuki repeated in disbelief. She drew her hand towards her chin and propped her head up. She stared at her bedroom ceiling, pondering the information her best friend just revealed to her. Her eyes shifted back towards the subject in question who was uncomfortably shifting on her feet.

"He kissed you?" Tatsuki repeated.

Orihime nodded.

She slammed her hand on the table once again.

"Hot damn," Tatsuki said, scratching the back of her head. "And I didn't think he had it in him…" she mumbled under her breath. Orihime's raven-haired friend ceased her scratching to prevent herself from ripping out her own hair. She cracked her knuckles, laced her fingers, and placed her elbows on the table. "When?" The interrogation began.

"On Saturday-"

"Saturday?!" Tatsuki threw her arms in the air, completely losing her recently attained calm demeanor. "And you tell me now?! Five days after it happened?! This is huge, Orihime, HUGE for that dim-wit to actually make a move on you. Why didn't you tell me?!"

"We've been busy with school, Tatsuki-chan," Orihime said as she slid her feet out from under her bottom, causing it to thud against the ground, and let her forehead plop onto the edge of the table. She took in a deep breath and sighed.

She half-lied.

The truth was that she wasn't sure if she should tell her best friend _exactly_ what happened. In fact, she initially had chosen not to say anything about it. But the more Orihime thought about that night trying to analyze Ichigo's reaction, the more she felt lost; and the more she deliberated with herself about telling Tatsuki, the better she felt about the whole ordeal.

But Orihime decided not to tell her everything.

"I wanted to tell you in person and when we were alone. After all, it is, like you said, a huge deal." Orihime raised her face and rested her chin onto the table to see her friend's reaction. She could see her frustration.

"You tell me this _now-_" Tatsuki massaged her temples. "-now that you're about to leave?" Apparently, Orihime also chose to make this conversation short. Tatsuki slid her hand through her short, spiky hair and sighed. Then, she came to a sudden realization. Tatsuki leaned back, arms propping her up, and gave a smug look at Orihime. "You guys _did_ _it_, didn't you?"

The timid young lady became red in the face. "N-no!!!"

"Why the hell not?!" Tatsuki hunched forward with her hands gripping her knees. "Are you stupid?!"

Orihime straightened up with her hands on her hips and bit her lip. "How rude, I am not stupid."

"Yes you are, to waste an opportunity like that!" Tatsuki huffed.

"Kurosaki-kun wouldn't-" Orihime puffed as she crossed her arms.

But she was incapable of finishing her sentence.

Her eyebrows slowly drooped as she lowered her eyes when she realized what she was about to say. She stared down into her lap while her hands loosened their grip and her arms slid down to her sides. "_He wouldn't do that…"_ she thought as the bridge of her nose began to tingle, her nostrils slightly stuffed up and her eyes glazed over, _"because he doesn't l-"_

"Fine, I'll give you that." Tatsuki interrupted Orihime's thought. "I never thought the guy had the balls to make any kind of move on you-or any girl for that matter! So it'd be a miracle if he forced himself on you."

Tatsuki's words sent a shiver down Orihime's spine. _"He didn't force himself on me…"_ Orihime thought, attempting to convince herself as she regained her composure for her friend who was in the midst of verbalizing a long train of thought.

"Although, Ichigo _is_ a guy and he _is_ a teenager. And hormonal teenage boys have only one thing on their minds…" Tatsuki continued as she began to bit down on her thumb. "But, then again, it is Ichigo who we're talking about here. He never thinks about that type of shit. But, then again…"

Orihime stared intently at her babbling friend with a smile. Tatsuki was beginning to think like her.

"…you never know what a guy's thinking. Right…?" She looked up at Orihime who was smiling strangely at her.

"What?" Tatsuki asked, slightly weirded out.

"Nothing," she beamed.

"Anyways," Tatsuki began, surprised at her own surprise towards Orihime's normal strange behavior, "If he did force himself on you…" Tatsuki balled her hand into a fist. "You know what I'd do?" she asked as she punched into free hand.

"What's that?" Orihime wondered, slightly afraid of her overprotective best friend's plan.

"I'd go to Ichigo's place, knock on the door, and when he opens it- WHAM!" She punched the air. "I junk-punch him in his man business and he'll fall to the floor crying 'why?!' And then I'll say 'you know why!' " She then forcefully pointed her index finger between Orihime's eyes. "What do you think?" she asked, tapping her best friend's forehead.

"Tatsuki-chan?!" Orihime exclaimed. "You can't do that!"

"And why not?"

"That's just… wrong! Besides, isn't Kurosaki-kun you're nakama?"

"Yeah. So?"

Orihime looked at her best friend in disbelief. She tilted her head with wide-eyes as she stared at Tatsuki.

"What?" she asked as she rubbed her nose. "I hate pigs who force themselves on girls. It's as simple as that. My friendship with him would change if he really was a womanizer, but he's not. So it's all good," she explained.

"Oh…" Orihime said feeling like an idiot. _"Of course Tatsuki-chan hates men like that, right? She always protects me from those kinds of guys and even from Chizuru," _she thought as she took a sip of her tea. Her eyes wandered over to their children. Sasuke and Nell had been playing together in the corner since Orihime had arrived. She smiled at their babies when suddenly her female intuition (which was usually wrong) kicked in.

"Are things not going well between you and Ishida-kun?"

Tatsuki looked surprised at the question. "What?" she asked with a cookie dangling from her mouth.

"Well, I figured something might be up between you two. You have a lot more aggression in you these days!" Orihime said with enthusiasm. "You're all HI-YAH!!!" she playfully karate-chopped the air," in your karate club lately and some of your fellow club members have been getting much more injuries and whatnot from you. Frustrated?"

"No, not really. We've been doing pretty well lately," Tatsuki began. "He's really polite and gentleman-like. He isn't that pompous ass that I used to think he was, thankfully. So things are fine between us, just a bit slow though."

"So you _are_ frustrated," Orihime teased.

A tint of pink became visible on Tatsuki's cheeks. "N-no…" she quietly said as she pressed her lips together.

"_Ma-ma…?" _

The two looked down at their adorable little babies who crawled their way over to the table. "Sasuke…" Tatsuki replied as she playfully placed her son in her lap, Orihime doing the same with Nell. But once the two were out of sight from one another, they began to wail.

"Alright, alright…" Orihime and Tatsuki placed both of their babies onto the table. They crawled over to each other and successfully made their way over to the cookie tray together- making a complete mess. "Argh… here! Watch some cartoons!"

Tatsuki managed to pick both of them up at the same time and plopped them onto her couch. She dragged the table against her sofa and began placing books to separate the two pieces of furniture. Orihime grabbed the remote and turned on the T.V. Sasuke and Nell automatically ceased their fit and began watching the tube. Tatsuki sat back down and helped Orihime clean up the mess.

"Geez," she began, "they can be such a hassle at times." Orihime nodded in agreement. "But even though they can be a real pain in the ass," Tatsuki continued. "I'm actually kind of sad about tomorrow. Aren't you?"

"Yeah, it's the last day of the project…" Orihime replied as they finished wiping up the remaining crumbs.

"But, you know what else is tomorrow…"

"What?"

"Are you serious?" Tatsuki raised an eyebrow. She was sure Orihime wouldn't forget what day it was, but she was proven wrong when her well-endowed friend shook her head.

"What's tomorrow?" Orihime asked.

"It's St. White's Day!"

Orihime slapped her forehead. "That's right! I completely forgot!"

"I can't believe you. You're always bombarded with gifts on St. White's Day. How you could you forget?"

Orihime bit onto her thumb nail. "Well, with the whole baby project and now the thing with Kurosaki-kun, it kind of slipped my mind…"

"But you've been making St. White's Day decorations in your handicrafts club for the school all week," Tatsuki said still pondering whether or not her best friend was really that much of a ditz. Orihime's eyes widened and her head perked up.

"Oh, so that's what they were for…?" She merely shrugged and contently drank some more tea. Tatsuki slapped her forehead: Orihime really was that much of a ditz.

"Well, I guess Ichigo kissing you is a sign of good things to come. He may even get you a gift for tomorrow," Tatsuki said happily, but her friend didn't look nearly as cheerful as she would have thought. Orihime looked downright doubtful.

"I'm not so sure about that," she said smiling wryly. "But, enough about me and Kurosaki-kun. Do you think Ishida-kun has something special in store for you?"

Rarely, if ever, did Orihime ever see her best friend so fervent. Tatsuki grinned from ear to ear and produced a smile so cheeky her eyes almost completely shut. "Maybe," she shrugged as she replied. "Ishida's always got something creative up his sleeve, but I kind of want…" Tatsuki hesitated and rubbed the back of her head, completely embarrassed about her true desire.

"I kind of want a white ribbon."

"A white ribbon?" Orihime asked, slightly befuddled. "I'm sure he can give you a white ribbon, he uses tons of it in our handicrafts club! But, why do you want that? You could always buy yourself a stool of it at the fabric store."

"You don't know what a white ribbon means on St. White's Day?" Orihime shook her head once again.

"On St. White's Day, if a guy gives you a white ribbon then it means that you're really special to him. But, if he ties it in your hair for you, then your love for each other is supposedly going to last forever. "Orihime smiled and brought a hand up to her face. Tatsuki took notice when her best friend attempted to suppress a chuckle. "What?" she asked slightly annoyed and ashamed.

"Nothing, nothing…" Orihime replied as she grinned and laughed through her teeth. "I never took you for a hopeless romantic, Tatsuki-chan."

"I-I am not!" she ardently denied the truth. "I'm just saying that I want a white ribbon… for the symbolism in it! I don't believe in the whole 'love lasting forever' myth."

"Alright, alright. I believe you. You don't need to get so heated about it though. It's cute." Orihime beamed, but Nell suddenly captured her mother's attention.

"Da-da!" Nell squealed. She bounced on her bottom and clapped her hands together. Even Sasuke joined in on the fun.

"Dada~" she repeated.

"Dada!" she repeated once more.

"Dada dada dada dada dada dada dada…"

Orihime knew that Nell's incessant sayings meant only one thing. She stood and picked up Nell. With her baby still squirming about, Orihime walked over to the window and searched for her baby's "Dada." And sure enough, the two caught a glimpse of Ichigo walking down the lighted street.

"Kurosaki-kun's here, Tatsuki-chan," Orihime informed her friend and the two commenced cleaning up the room. As if on cue, the doorbell rang as they finished straightening up and they dashed downstairs. Orihime slung Nell's baby bag over her shoulder as Tatsuki opened the door.

"Yo Tatsuki."

"Yo Ichigo."

"You ready to go, Inoue?" he cocked his head as he asked.

"Hmm…" she nodded and waddled out the door, Nell's baby bag slipping off her shoulder.

"Here, let me hold it."

"I've got it, Kurosaki-kun," she quickly replied. Orihime slung the bag over her head and repositioned Nell on her hip. She turned to face Tatsuki and Sasuke. "See you guys tomorrow! Bye bye. Say bye, Nell-chan." The three turned to leave, Nell waving goodbye to her friend.

"Bye bye~ bye bye~ bye bye~"

* * *

Ichigo and Orihime walked in silence as the tension in the air mounted onto their shoulders. Nell's idle banter finally ceased and she rested on Orihime's shoulder. From time to time, the two parents glanced at one another with curious and analytical eyes. And each time Ichigo caught a glimpse of Orihime, his palms became sweaty.

He still hadn't apologized to her.

Five days had passed, and he was still to chicken shit to do so. Whenever he mustered some form of courage to approach her about the topic, a knot in his chest formed and the conversation became about meaningless chit-chat. Five days had passed, and with each passing day it became harder for him to apologize. And the tension only grew thicker.

He glanced at her once again.

Instantly, she turned her head and their eyes locked for a brief second.

"S-so, how are they?" Orihime asked trying to break the tension.

"What?!" Ichigo quickly asked out of nervousness and surprise.

"The patients. How are they?"

"Oh." Ichigo felt the weight on his chest alleviate slightly. "Just a couple of cuts and bruises, but one of them had their arm broken."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes widening at the news.

"Yeah, it seems that they're getting more violent." Ichigo slowed his pace as they talked. "It was a good thing that you actually did what I said this time and stayed at Tatsuki's while I was helping out at the clinic."

"Why's that?"

"There was another beating tonight," Ichigo stopped dead. "By your apartment."

"What?"

"It was a woman this time too. They nearly raped her, she said, but one of your neighbors came out and called the police."

"Really?! Is she alright?" Orihime looked up at Ichigo with worried eyes.

"She's a bit shaken up, but she'll be fine," he replied as they continued walking. "I told you it was a good idea to stay with Tatsuki. " She nodded in agreement and the two walked in silence once again. Orihime focused her thoughts on the poor woman who had been attacked right in front of her own apartment. The thought sent a shiver down her spine and she glanced up at Ichigo, who had suddenly increased his pace, for some form of comfort.

His face had that signature scowl plastered all over it, but it never looked so stern before.

It made her feel uneasy.

"Kurosa-"

"Inoue. I want you to keep walking. If I stop, I want you to run. Okay?" he muttered really low.

"What?" she asked completely perplexed, attempting to walk in stride with Ichigo.

"_Well well well. Look at who we've got here,"_ a voice from behind sneaked up behind them. Several snickers were heard before Orihime completely grasped the situation.

"Shit." Ichigo growled underneath his breath as he furrowed his eyebrows, trying to come up with a plan. "Inoue, keep walking." He ordered as he slowed his pace. He came to a complete stop and looked over his shoulder. They were the next targets. "Inoue, run." He commanded.

She didn't.

"Inoue, run!" He commanded once more as the three from behind closed in.

"I can't."

Ichigo turned his head back around.

And there Orihime was with a stout thug blocking her escape. With hands in his pockets and a smug grin on his face, the leader of the pack approached until his prey was surrounded.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, eh?" he said as he and his crew circled around them, the smirk never leaving his face. "I haven't seen you around lately. I see you haven't dyed your hair to a normal color yet. I guess we need to change that, won't we boys?" The leader threw his arms into the air, waiting for the agreement of his crew. They obliged, laughing at their 'ingenious' plan.

Ichigo's eyes followed their leader as they circled around him, Nell, and Orihime. They narrowed when the leader turned his attention to Orihime.

"But what's this, men?" The leader stopped at the frozen girl. "It seems our little Kurosaki found a mate with the same colored hair." He came up behind her, eyes wandering all over her. Ichigo watched him intently, gritting his teeth and forming his hand into a fist.

"Oh…?" The leader looked surprised. "And you two got busy!" he exclaimed once he caught the sight of Nell. "Oh, come on baby," he referred to Orihime, "with a rack like that, you could have been any man's baby's mama! Why'd you choose him?" the leader asked, gripping onto Orihime's shoulder. "Why don't you be my-"

Before the gang leader could finish his sentence, before his mind could comprehend what he was doing, Ichigo's body reacted and punched the leader square in the jaw. "Don't touch her," he growled under his breath as the stout thug plummeted into the ground.

"B-Boss!"

His underlings cried out for their leader in vain for he was knocked out cold.

Ichigo quickly turned his attention to the three minions.

"Question 1!!!" he said while pointing to one of the three. "You, the stinky looking one! Are you the ones that have been attacking people recently?!" The smelly looking one smirked. "Yeah, what are you go-" Hearing him say yes was all Ichigo needed to hear before he grabbed the smelly one behind his head and rammed his knee into his face.

"Question 2!!!" Ichigo turned his attention to the only thug standing up. "Were we your next targets?!" he asked while walking slowly towards the remaining attacker, acting completely crazed.

"Y-yeah," he stammered as Ichigo approached. Then suddenly, a cocky grin plastered was all over his face. "What of it?"

"Wrong an-" Ichigo, about to punch the guy in the stomach, was sucker-punched from behind. "-swer…?" He felt his cheek scrape against the pavement as he was beaten into the ground. The kicks to the face, side and stomach left Ichigo dazed as he glanced up at his attackers. _"Man, it's been a while since I've gotten into a fist fight,"_ he thought with a tiny grin on his face,_" I kind of miss it." _

"Kurosaki-kun!"

Orihime called out to him, and he immediately snapped out of reminiscent daze. Ichigo attempted to glance towards her, but winced in pain as one of the thugs twisted his arm behind his back. The stinky thug sat on his back and grabbed Ichigo's head, forcing him to look in Orihime's direction. Then, through Nell's boisterous cries he realized why she called out his name.

He thought she called out to him in fear of his life or of his minor injuries, and maybe she really did mean to, but as he lay with three thugs pinning him against the pavement, Ichigo watched her become trapped as well. The leader he punched out only a minute ago was already on his feet, standing behind Orihime with one arm wrapped around her waist and his other hand clutching at her throat.

"Inoue!" Ichigo shouted as he watched the leader caress the poor girl and the rest of the pack make love to her with their eyes.

"You let your guard down, Kurosaki. Big mistake," the leader said as he pressed his fingertips into Orihime's neck, slowly drawing her even closer to his face. Once she was close enough, he grasped harder around her throat, closed his eyes and breathed in the intoxicating scent of her hair. Orihime choked and gasped for air. Surprisingly, the leader loosened his grip, but he reached over her mouth. He clutched her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb and breathed in once more.

"Why so serious?" he asked Orihime as a sweat drop trickled down her temple. "A dame like you needs to smile more. Let's put a smile on that face!" The leader unclamped his hand over her mouth and roughly pushed the corners of her mouth up with his thumb and index finger. He smiled. "Ain't she a looker fellas?!"

Tears welled up in her eyes as she was forced to smile.

As if that didn't piss Ichigo off enough, the leader lightly slapped Orihime's face. "Don't worry baby, we'll take good care of you," he assured her as he clamped his hand over her mouth once again. "After we take care of this annoying baby!"

But before the leader removed his hand to shut the baby up, Orihime chomped down onto the inside of his palm. Ichigo and the dumbfounded lackeys watched as she bit as hard as she could. He cried out in pain, but grasped onto her jaw even harder. "You little bitc-"

Orihime quickly jolted her head backwards, causing the thick mass called her skull to collide with the leader's nose. His eyes immediately filled with tears, not from the tingling and stinging sensation from his broken nose, but from the damage his so-called helpless hostage dealt to his lower half.

With Nell crying in her arms, Orihime dug her heel as roughly as she could into her attacker's foot. She swore she heard a crack, but commenced with some serious ass kicking. With Nell now clinging around her mother's neck, Orihime switched arms and supported her baby with her left as she swiftly balled her right hand into a fist and swung it straight into the leader's… tender area.

He keeled over, clutching his manhood from the throbbing pain, and quickly passed out- leaving one awe-struck group frozen.

"B-Boss?!"

One of them let go of Ichigo's arm to check on their now infertile leader. The orange-haired shinigami who was pinned to the ground smirked when Orihime was out of harm's way. "Don't worry about him," he said, pushing himself and the stinky thug on his back off of the ground with a single arm," You really should worry about yourselves."

Thusly, Ichigo opened a can of whoop-ass on the conscious thugs.

Once finished, he approached Orihime who was attempting to hush Nell's cries. The two watched as their attackers took their retreat, carrying with them their unconscious leader. Orihime smiled as Nell's wailing ceased when the gang was out of their sight. She looked up at Ichigo, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Tch." He frowned while scratching the back of his head. "I figured that if we freaked them out enough, they would leave everyone alone, but they ended up sucker-punching me and _you_ scared them off. Go figure," he said as he smiled at Orihime. She strangely had a tiny tinge of pink on her cheeks.

"Well, I think you're the one who scared them off Kurosaki-kun. All I did was protect our baby!" :D

"Yeah, and that's why I think you scared them off. You seriously kicked his ass. I'm surprised." He grinned as they continued walking home. The adrenaline pumping through his veins strangely made him for more at ease, as if the previous tension never existed.

"Really? I learned some karate from Tatsuki-chan. She said I was pretty strong, too! I think she said I was at the shodan level or something?" she said, recalling an event that took place in Soul Society.

Ichigo looked shocked to hear that Inoue Orihime, the nicest girl he has ever met, was at the first-degree black belt level. "But," she continued," I'm surprised that they took you down so easily!" She teased.

"Hey, I haven't been in a real fist fight in a long time," he said as he puckered his lip and frowned," And on top of that, I haven't fought any hollows for a while." He smiled once again as Orihime suppressed a tiny giggle. They both missed how they used to be: no tension in the air, no awkward silences- just the two of them shooting the breeze.

"Hey, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Hmm…?"

Orihime looked eager and anxious to ask her question. But before she could, Nell interrupted.

"H…"

The two parents stopped walking and looked at their child.

"Huuuu…"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"Huuuu…"

"Huuuungry…?" Orihime tried to crack the code of baby talk. Ichigo immediately took the baby bag from Orihime and began digging through it for Nell's bottle. He offered it to Nell, but she refused and smacked the bottle away.

"Huuuu…" she muttered again.

Ichigo became frustrated. "Dammit, what does she want?"

"Haaaall-" The two teens looked questioningly at their rambling baby. "-low."

"What?" Ichigo asked as he took a step back.

"Hollow!" Nell exclaimed.

They eyed their baby, Orihime feeling anxious.

"Hollow. Hollow. Hollow. Hollow…"

"Wha-" Ichigo asked once again.

And in a blink of an eye, a hollow wrapped its skeletal fingers around Orihime and Nell. As if in slow motion, Ichigo watched as the two were encased in the hollow's grasp. His heart stopped. His mind became clouded. His blood began to boil.

"INOUE!!!"

He screamed for her, his mind becoming pristine. With his heart rapidly beating in his chest, adrenaline flowing through his veins, anger and worry emanating through his very essence, Ichigo plunged his hands into his pockets, searching for the one thing that would allow him to protect her.

But, it was missing.

His shinigami representative badge was missing.

"Inoue!!!"

Ichigo screamed once again as he furiously rummaged through his pockets. It was really missing. Realizing where it could be, Ichigo cursed himself when he turned around and saw his badge aimlessly lying amongst the pavement. He ran towards it, glancing back in horror at who he promised to protect.

The hollow's hand completely clutched around Orihime and Nell, and it began to pull itself out of Hueco Mundo. Ichigo dove for his badge and thrust it against his chest as he rolled along the ground.

Body and soul became separated at last.

But as he drew Zangetsu, Ichigo stopped dead. He heard her call out a name she rarely speaks.

"Tsubaki. Koten Zanshun. "

Ichigo loosened his grip on his zanpakutō as he watched the hollow's thumb was completely severed off and the rest of its arm split in half. Tsubaki traced his way towards the hollow's shoulder, neck, and finally the head. The hollow disintegrated and its remains dissipated, leaving Ichigo speechless. Orihime and his child stood there completely unharmed.

Orihime turned to Ichigo as her Saten Kesshun reverted back into her hairpins, surprised to see him in his shinigami outfit. She briskly walked towards him, smiling and waving.

He stood there awe-struck as she approached. She and Nell cocked their heads to the side as Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"H-how did you know?" he asked referring to her shield.

"I didn't," she replied as she bounced Nell in her arms. "She knew."

"But then…"

"They kind of come out on their own," she said while Ichigo fused back into his body. "They've been doing that since the Winter War. It's pretty cool, actually. I like calling it my absolute defensive shield!" Orihime beamed.

"Oh." Ichigo said as he got up and dusted himself off. "So you and Nell aren't hurt?" he asked while patting his baby's head. Orihime shook her head as she passed Nell over. "Nope," she replied, intently looking at Ichigo's face. "But, do you want me to heal you?" she asked while pointing to the laceration on his cheek.

"_Well that was a disappointing sight to behold."_

The two teens looked up, but the shinigami quickly jumped down from the building. The girl looked as if she was in her early twenties, her hair was cropped into a short bob, and she had a pair of sleek, dark rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. Orihime leaned towards Ichigo as the shinigami came closer.

"Wow, Kyōraku-taicho has a thing for girls with glasses, doesn't he?" she whispered.

"That's what I said, but then she-" Ichigo whispered back from the corner of his mouth, but the shinigami smacked Ichigo upside the head.

"Yes yes, we all know that Kyōraku-taicho possesses a strong affinity for bespectacled women," she said before the orange-haired hot-head could voice any protests. The shinigami turned to the auburn beauty. "You're Inoue Orihime correct?" she asked with a slight air of haughtiness.

"Y-Yes. You are?" Orihime apprehensively replied.

"Shiori Miyoshi. Nice to finally meet you!" The shinigami happily introduced herself as she extended a friendly hand. Orihime reluctantly shook her hand, but smiled nonetheless.

"Nice to meet you too, Shiori-san!"

"That was quite an impressive display I saw earlier, Inoue-san. It's no wonder why the Captain Commander has his eyes set on you. "

"What the hell, Yoshi!?" Ichigo angrily interjected. "You're supposed to be on duty, not watching us fight!"

"Us fight? _Us _fight? Excuse me, but I only saw this young lady over here fight." Miyoshi retorted. "Besides, it's _your_ fault that hollow appeared here in the first place."

"How do you figure that?" Ichigo asked as he shifted Nell to his other shoulder.

"Well," the shinigami began, placing her hands on her hips," two hollows were to appear within a span of five minutes on the other side of town, both of them being only one mile away from each other. I could have gotten both of them, but _your_ reiatsu spiked a moment after the first hollow appeared. So, naturally the second hollow followed your gargantuan spiritual energy at the last second. "

"Oh, so you defeated the first hollow, came running here, and watched Inoue get the second one?"

"No, I came as quickly as I could, but Inoue-san defeated it before I could get here in time. Now I'm here to inform you that I'm going to file a report and get your consent to alter the conditions placed your representative badge."

"Yeah yeah, do whatever you want. Sheesh," Ichigo consented as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free arm.

"Alright then. See you later, kiddies." Miyoshi said as she whipped out her cell phone and jumped back onto the roof of the building. "Oh, Ichigo! Tell your friend Keigo to stop asking me to turn him into a 'ninja' like you," she hollered out as she ran into the distant horizon.

Orihime turned to Ichigo and wryly smiled. "Let's go home, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo nodded and the family quickly went home.

_This was one hectic night._

* * *

"Hnnn…" Orihime grit her teeth as she pulled and pulled. It wouldn't budge. She walked over to the other side of the crib and began pushing.

"Inoue, what are you doing?" Ichigo curiously asked as he stepped out of the bathroom.

Orihime jumped at the question and began to laugh nervously. "I'm putting Nell's crib back into my room. But this darn thing won't move!"

"Well first of all, the wheels are still locked. That's why it won't budge. And second, leave it out here."

"But…" Orihime glanced at Ichigo as she began to protest. He stared intently at her, knowing very well that she remembered their previous arguments. "Fine, I'll leave it out here," she said as she sighed and pouted. But, Ichigo would not give in to such a tactic. He merely entered Orihime's room as he roughly ran a towel through his spiky hair.

Orihime quickly followed, picking up Nell's toys along the way. She placed all the little trinkets into the corner as Ichigo carefully picked up their sleeping daughter out of Orihime's futon. He slowly passed his sleeping child to her mother when she motioned for him to do so.

She left the room and placed Nell into her crib as Ichigo got his rolled up futon and pillow. He exited the room as well and set up his futon in the living room. He glanced back at Orihime who was leaning over the edge of the crib to watch her sleeping baby.

She felt Ichigo's gaze and turned to face him.

Their gazes crossed paths.

This time neither one of them looked away.

Ichigo stared into the odious pools of brown which also reflected expressions of confusion, sadness, and compassion. His heart sank as she lightly furrowed her eyebrows and averted her gaze.

"Goodnight, Kurosaki-kun," she softly said as she turned away.

Guilt washed over him.

"Goodnight, Inoue."

She slightly nodded and turned off the lights as Ichigo climbed into his futon. He watched as Orihime crawled into hers and lay there supine.

Since the _incident_, both Orihime and Ichigo agreed it would be best if Ichigo slept in the living room. They moved Nell's crib into the living room as well, and had some minor altercations regarding its placement throughout the week. Orihime insisted that they move the crib back into her room on her nights, but Ichigo argued that while she had to suffer through Nell's cries on his nights, he would have to suffer through hers.

She reluctantly agreed.

Now, he carefully watched as she lay motionless within her futon, waiting for the twenty-second hour to pass.

The two listened to the ticks and tocks from the clock, anticipating Nell's cries. But when it passed, Nell remained peacefully asleep inside her crib. Strangely, their baby only acted up on Ichigo's nights throughout the week.

He rested in his futon, one arm on his stomach, the other propping up his head. Although it was dark throughout the entire apartment, Ichigo could see Orihime clearly. She curled up into a ball, completely covering her head under her comforter as ten o' clock passed.

Since the incident, Ichigo watched from the living room as Orihime cried herself to sleep.

He felt like shit.

He hurt her.

He broke her heart.

But it was for the best.

He did not know if he loved her.

"_What the hell is love anyway?"_ he asked himself as he watched the mound of sheets curl up into a tighter ball. He grit his teeth and placed a hand on his forehead. _"What is she to me?"_ He asked himself those questions every night as he watched the girl he had hurt. He knew he loved his mom, his sisters, and yes- even his crazy dad. He knew loved Rukia, Renji, Chad, Tatsuki- he knew he loved his friends. But, that was a different kind of love.

So, did he _love_ Orihime?

Ichigo stared at the ceiling, not knowing what to do, what to think. He didn't even know where to begin.

Then, let's start with the basics, shall we?

_Love is when you are willing to do anything to protect that person._

Ichigo scoffed. That was no help. He'd protect any one of his nakama.

_Love makes you happy._

Ichigo frowned. Enough said.

_Love is…_

Ichigo smacked his forehead and roughly scratched his hair.

"_I don't know what love is, but I sure as hell know what it's not."_ Instantly, an image of Rukia popped into his mind. Of course many have assumed that they had affectionate feelings for one another, and it was true that they did have a share of tender moments, but Rukia was like a sister to him. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the thought.

Okay, maybe not like a sister. Maybe more like a cousin you can't get away from, but you still get along with (sometimes).

Ichigo smirked as he recalled the infiltration of Soul Society. Orihime was along side him, encouraging him to fight and take Rukia back. Even though nothing went as smoothly as they planned, they managed to rescue Rukia almost completely unscathed. And when it was time for them to part, Ichigo said his goodbyes to Rukia with no regrets, no hesitations.

It was she who granted him that power to protect, and with that power he saved her. That was the true goal: to save her from execution, not to bring her back to the world of the living.

But, not bringing Orihime back from Hueco Mundo was never an option.

Ichigo had to bring Orihime back. He wanted to, he needed to. But, why? Why go to Hueco Mundo and infiltrate Las Noches before the Winter War to bring back a person who supposedly left on her own accord?

To prove her innocence?

She could have when the war was over.

Instinct?

"Pft." That was all bullshit.

Ichigo flipped over and laid on his belly. He drew his comforter up to his face, placed his arms under his pillow, and nestled his head into it shifting his gaze in Orihime's direction. He heard her trying to inhale deeply and hold her breath as he moved about. _She was still crying…_

He sighed and plunged his head into his pillow, nearly suffocating himself. When out of breath, he turned his head away from Orihime this time.

Never in his life had he felt this way. Never in his life did he have to evaluate a person's meaning to him. Never in his life had he thought about loving someone. So now that he finally had, how did he feel? His late night deliberations with himself left Ichigo feeling utterly confused and lost.

But, maybe that was just it. He thought about what she meant, he thought about whether or not he loved her.

It's either you do or you don't.

Ichigo turned his head to watch Orihime. His expression softened when she finally unraveled from the tight ball she curled into and relax. He knew what he needed to do, he knew that he needed to apologize…

And he finally knew what he wanted.

But when Orihime woke up the next morning, Ichigo was already gone.

* * *

Oh my, is that a cliffy? My gawd I think it is!!! Sowrie guys, but this is only PART ONE of the finale. :3 I know I said that this chapter would be the finale, but I thought I would leave you all in suspense for another long while. Just kidding. This time I swear to you that I will work diligently on the true finale!!! Anyways, there won't be any lemons in this story, just to let you know. Sorry if that bums you out, but I honestly don't want to write a lemon. Although, once I post the epilouge up and someone wants to write a lemon based off of it, be my guest. :3

So how'd you like the grinning gangsters, btw? I watched The Dark Knight for the umpteenth time while I was writing that part, so I guess the leader acted like the Joker didn't he? Eh... Oh, and another thing! Shiori Miyoshi was supposed to be me...I had to throw myself in there for the hell of it. :3

Read and Review guys, it makes me happy and more determined to finish the next chapter when you review! Really, it does.

**Next Chapter: Morning of Mournings**

_The final day of the project has finally come. What's to happen between the parents?_

* * *


	7. Chapter 6: Morning of Mournings

The finale.

Enjoy my duckies.

**

* * *

The Next Day- March 14th- St. White's Day**

Orihime reached from her futon to turn off her alarm. She rolled onto her back and yawned as she rubbed her eyes. They slowly cracked open, but her eyes still felt heavy. Orihime sat up in her futon and poked at her eyelids. They were puffy and covered in eye crust. She quickly got up and rubbed her eyes once more, wiping away any residue.

With arms stretched over her head, Orihime walked into the living room to check on Nell.

"Nell-chan…" she said softly as she poked her head over the crib, but she gasped at what was inside: nothing. Orihime's arms dove into the crib frantically searching around for Nell, tossing everything about.

"K-Kurosaki-kun!!!" Orihime exclaimed as she turned around. She briskly walked towards his futon and roughly shook the lump inside. "Kurosaki-kun, Nell-chan is-" As she peeled off the comforter from the lump, she realized that all she was shaking was his pillow. Orihime quickly got up and searched her apartment.

"Kurosaki-kun? Nell-chan?!"

They were no where in sight. Orihime dropped to her knees in the living room, clutching at her face in horror. _"No, the aliens must have taken them!!!" _she thought as she sat on her feet. She hunched over, arms propping her up, as she stared at the floor. _"But why am I still here? Why didn't they take me too?!"_ But as she began to sob, a larger thud was heard against her apartment door. Orihime's head jerked up.

"_Oh my goodness, they've come for me?!" _

She immediately leaned back and crawled her way into a corner keeping her eyes glued to the door. Her eyes widened as the door handle jiggled and cracked open slightly. Orihime closed her eyes and threw her arms in front of her face as the door swung wide open. "Please don't eat me! I taste really bad… actually, I might taste pretty good. But please don't eat me!" she yelled out to the alien.

"Inoue…?"

Orihime opened her eyes as she slowly lowered her arms. Her heart stopped beating for a second. Relief washed over her as she realized that it was Ichigo who stood staring at her with Nell in his arms. "Yay! You're both alive!" she exclaimed. Both the Ichigo and the baby raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Ichigo asked, cautiously approaching the orange-haired beauty who seemed more off than usual. "Are you still dreaming?"

"No. I thought you and Nell-chan were abducted by aliens when I couldn't find you!" she replied as she stood up.

"_Yup, that's normal and she's definitely awake." _Ichigo thought with a tiny smirk on his face. "I just stepped out to get us some breakfast," he said, outstretching a hand which held a bag of breakfast foods. Orihime beamed as she took the bag from his hands.

"That's so nice, Kurosaki-kun!" she exclaimed as she began plating up their food. "You didn't have to wake up early to do this," Orihime said as she glanced back at Ichigo, who began changing Nell's diaper, and smiled.

"Nah, I woke up really early this morning and couldn't fall back asleep. So I got ready for school and started packing up my things while you were sleeping. Then, I figured I should get us some breakfast, but Nell woke up when I was about to leave. So I brought her along," he replied as he placed Nell into her crib and walked over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands.

"Well, it's still very thoughtful of you, Kurosaki-kun," she said as she threw away the containers. Out of the entire month they spent living together, Orihime definitely learned one thing about Ichigo: he was not a morning person. She smiled at him as he finished washing his hands. "Oh, did you get something for Nell-chan too?"

"Yeah, I got her some scrambled eggs that are made of just the yolks and some yogurt just in case," he said as he began helping Orihime set up Nell's plate. The two worked side-by-side as Ichigo mashed up some fish and mixed it with a bit of rice. When finished, he placed their food onto the table as Orihime retrieved Nell from her crib. The family comfortably sat together around the tiny table, and Orihime clapped her hands together with chopsticks in hand.

"Itadakimasu!"

With Nell sitting in her lap, Orihime attempted to feed the squirming baby her breakfast. She filled a tiny spoonful of fish and rice into the utensil and-

"Chugga-chugga-choo-choo~"

-skillfully glided the food into her baby's little mouth. Nell bit onto the spoon, taking only half of its contents and began meshing it together with her gums at the back of her mouth, occasionally letting the half-masticated food slip out. "Ah ah ah," Orihime said with her mouth shaped in the form of an 'o' as she wiped away the gooey mess. Meanwhile, Ichigo watched with an amused grin on his face.

"Oi Inoue, do you want me to feed her?" he asked after some time, noticing she barely touched her own food.

"No, I've got it, Kurosaki-kun."

"But, you need to hurry up and eat."

She waved him off with spoon in hand as Nell munched on some eggs. "It'll be fine."

Ichigo frowned. He scooted closer to her, grabbed the loaf of bread he specifically bought for her, dipped it into some honey and-

"Chuggachuggachoochoo," he monotonously said as he shoved the food by her face. She turned her head, perplexed at his sad imitation.

"Wha-" Orihime tried to ask as Ichigo skillfully rammed the bread into her mouth. She instinctively bit down and munched on the bread dripping with honey. She swallowed hard at the large mouthful. "What was that?" she asked with a look of confusion on her face and a tint of pink on her cheeks.

"I'll feed you while you feed Nell since I'm already done eating and you won't let me feed her. Deal?" he bargained as he dipped the bread into more honey.

But Orihime pouted. "Fine, you feed her…"

And Ichigo grinned. _"Smooth King, real smooth…"_

He was a master at the art of negotiation. (Not really) :P

When they finished eating breakfast, Orihime quickly got ready for school as Ichigo resumed packing his things. He neatly placed all of his belongings into Nell's crib and sat on the floor by the apartment door as he impatiently waited for Orihime to dress Nell in a different outfit. Once she was finished, she ambled her way towards Ichigo with Nell in tow. He immediately got up, slung his bag over his shoulder, and picked up his baby's bag. With his hand already turning the door knob, Ichigo glanced at Orihime.

"Ready to go?" he asked. She didn't reply and merely stared at the door with an anxious face. "Are you okay, Inoue?"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look…scared."

She bit her lip and looked at the ground. Her eyes shifted uncomfortably as she thought of what to say. She looked up at Ichigo and scrunched her face. "Today's St. White's Day," she said in a hushed tone.

"And…?" he asked, curious about her sudden case of agoraphobia.

"Well," she began with a tinge of embarrassment in her voice," usually on St. White's Day, there's this small group of guys who wait outside my apartment complex. Some of them know exactly where I live, some of them don't. So when I go out there…" Her voice trailed off as she bit her lip once more and glanced out of the window. Ichigo let go of the door handle and turned to face Orihime.

"Is that why there were so many guys outside this morning?"

She nodded her head.

"Well then, you don't have to worry about it," Ichigo casually said. "When I left this morning to get our breakfast, some of the guys saw me and immediately left. When one of them approached me asking if that was your apartment, I told him to fuck off and when I came back everyone was gone."

Orihime breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay then," she said as she reached for the door. "Let's go, Kurosaki-kun!"

* * *

The door to class 1-3 slid open.

The entire room fell silent and an unfathomable tension filled the air as Inoue Orihime and Kurosaki Ichigo walked into the room. The two felt the stares from their classmates as they took their seats and placed Nell's carrier on the floor. It felt as if time stood still. Feeling uncomfortable, Orihime looked at Ichigo who was scowling back at his classmates. She shook her head, knowing that his reaction would only make things (whatever their problem may be) worse.

She nervously turned her head and wryly smiled.

"G-good morning…?"

And just like that, the hustle and bustle continued. Orihime sighed and looked at Ichigo once again.

"What the hell was that?!"

"I have no clue!" They whispered to each other. He merely shrugged and continued glaring at the classmates who kept glancing in their direction. Orihime crossed her arms on her desk and nestled her head into her limbs as she rocked Nell's carrier with her foot. She eyed the door, waiting for Tatsuki to come in and give her some explanation.

"_Didn't you hear?"_

"_They saw him leaving her apartment."_

"_You think that they've been living together?"_

"_Tch. Are they even dating?"_

Suddenly, Orihime realized what was going on. A dash of pink splashed across her cheeks as she thought about it from the gossiper's point of view. She quickly turned to Ichigo and whispered, "Kurosaki-kun! They know!"

He raised an eyebrow at the statement. "They know what?"

"They know that-"

"They know that you two have been living together." Tatsuki finished her best friend's sentence as she slammed her bag onto Ichigo's desk. "Or at least some people are saying that. Others are saying you two are dating, you're getting married… the whole rumor shebang. So, how did it get out?"

"They saw Kurosaki-kun leaving my apartment to get us breakfast…" Orihime quietly said, clutching at her forehead. "And he scared some guys away too."

"Is that true, Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked.

He nodded.

Suddenly, a certain lesbian rushed to Ichigo, grasped onto his desk, and shoved her face merely centimeters away from his. "It's true?!" she hollered out to the entire class. "You fiend! How dare you impregnate my Hime!!!"

Orihime slapped her forehead as Tatsuki and Ichigo slapped Chizuru.

"No, you dumbass!" Ichigo shouted as he glared at the onlookers.

"Now, go away!" Tatsuki said, pushing the lesbian towards the door. Keigo and Mizuiro quickly apprehended said lesbian and dragged her out of the classroom. They let go of her once she calmed down.

"Maybe you should get over Orihime-san, Chizuru." Mizuiro said with a worried look.

"Whaaat? Why?!"

"Do you remember that transfer student Shinji?" Keigo surprisingly interjected.

She nodded her head.

"Well, do you remember that day when he hugged Orihime-san?"

"Yeah. Ichigo got all worked up and dragged Shinji outside."

"And have you seen him since?"

"N-no." Chizuru choked out the simple word and hung her head low. "Maybe I should give up…"

"Now that's the spirit!" Keigo stupidly said as he patted the depressed lesbian on the back and led her back into the classroom. The three walked in, Tatsuki and Ichigo glaring in their direction.

"Anyways," Tatsuki said, shrugging her shoulders. "The rumors have already been set loose. Just give it a couple of weeks and it will all be long forgotten." Orihime, about to express her concern over the situation, was interrupted when Ochi-sensei barged through the door. She slammed her briefcase onto her desk as everyone took their seats.

"Alright everyone! You know what today is, right? The last day of your baby project!" Ochi-sensei enthusiastically said as she opened her briefcase and took out her notepad. Surprisingly, only half of the class cheered. "As all of you know, some of you started about half a day earlier than everyone else. So, those of you who started later, you will need to go to the teacher's lounge." Immediately, half of the class stood up.

"Hold your horses! I'm not finished!" the teacher hollered out, motioning her students to take their seats. "Impatient little bastards," she mumbled under her breath. "Anyways, this is what we're going to do for the first half of the day. Those of you who are going to the teacher's lounge, you will be taking care of your projects as usual, and those of you who will remain here will be graded immediately."

"Since the grading process does take an extensive amount of time, those of you in the lounge will watch a movie about safe sex and you will receive and partake in a crash-course child development class. Enjoy!" Ochi-sensei brightly said as half of the class groaned. "You will be brought back here shortly before lunch."

"Now, for those of you who are staying in here, you will, of course, be graded. Although, since I can only grade you one-at-a-time, you will be watching a bunch of kiddy movies to keep the little tots entertained. Then, you'll have lunch and you'll go through the same child-development class during the second half of the day as I grade the rest of the bunch. Is that understood?" she asked the class.

"Alright, move out!"

Orihime waved to Tatsuki as she and Ishida packed up their things and headed out the door. She turned to Ichigo as he picked Nell out of her carrier.

"I wonder how they're going to grade us." Orihime said, thinking out-loud. Ichigo shrugged as he held Nell over his shoulder and rocked her slightly with his characteristic frown on his face.

Once the students who started late left the classroom, the teacher brought a TV into the room and began setting up the DVD player. When finished, Ochi-sensei briefly walked out of the room and returned with a cart covered with a sheet. She went to her desk, gathered her things, and placed them onto the cart.

"Well, I'm going to start the movie. I'll be at the back of the classroom where I'll call you in groups by your baby's name as it plays. When you have been graded, just stick your hand into their mouth and pull out the gumball. Alright?" Ochi-sensei said as she hit the play button. She wheeled the cart to the back of the room and uncovered the contraption.

Orihime did not dare look at it for she was enjoying the movie.

"Asano Sakura."

Immediately, Keigo and Chizuru took Sakura to the back of the room. Orihime, occupied with the movie, jumped at the sound of gears grinding and metal clanking. Although the sounds surprised her, she refrained from glancing backwards. _"I don't want to know what they're doing…"_ she thought as she scrunched her face.

Orihime turned to Ichigo with the intent to ask him what was going on at the back of the room, but he was completely preoccupied with their baby. She pouted and anxiously waited for their turn. Several names were called before she was about to find out.

"Kurosaki Nelyasviel."

Ichigo stood up with their sleeping baby draped over his shoulder. Orihime quickly followed, her eyes glued at the contraption. _"It looks like a crib…"_ she thought as they approached Ochi-sensei.

"Okay, put her in," the teacher said.

Ichigo did as he was told and gently placed the sleeping Nell inside the seemingly normal crib. Once inside, Ochi-sensei pressed a button on what looked like a printer. The sound of gears turning and metal clanking filled the back of the room, but the crib stayed completely still. Orihime cocked her head to the side, wondering how in the world this crib could possibly be the means of their grade.

The abnormal sounds ceased and Nell began to stir as the printer went off. Orihime picked Nell up out of the crib and hushed her cries while Ochi-sensei looked over the freshly printed sheet. The two orange-haired teens nervously awaited their results.

"Hmm…" the teacher said she marked their grade into her booklet. "Good job you guys."

They both breathed a sigh of relief.

"It says here that you didn't feed your baby any lethal foods and you didn't give her any whiskey for when she was teething. Interesting since about half of the people before you gave their kid some type of alcohol… Anyways, overall you both did a great job. Although, it also says here that you were almost always with the baby and were very attentive to her cries. "

Orihime looked up at Ichigo, then to the teacher. "Is that a bad thing?"

"It's not a terrible thing, but it's kind of bad. It's important for the baby to become attached to its parents, but it's also important for it to not become overly attached. I understand that you occasionally let Kurosaki's dad watch your baby from time to time? That's good. Interaction with people other than the parents stimulates the brain and allows the baby to trust other people."

"Also, you should have let your baby cry a little bit more, but don't over do it since that would mean you are neglecting your child. Anyways, by letting your baby cry, you allow their lungs to strengthen a bit. Plus, if you act that way when they're a toddler, they'll become a spoiled little brat…"

"So, how did we do?" Ichigo finally asked.

"Since most first-time parents make the same mistakes the both of you did, you did great. You both get an 'A.'" Ochi-sensei said with a smile. "Now that you're finished, go over to that corner, take out the gumball and put it in that jar. Then, put the doll into the basket with all the others."

Orihime's eyes widened. "What?" she asked the teacher, but Ichigo quickly dragged her towards the corner. "Wait a second, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime defensively held onto Nell. "We can't! I can't…" she said softly as she looked down at her sleeping baby.

"We've got to, Inoue. She's not really our baby, you know…" Ichigo said, his voice trailing off.

Orihime pouted. She held Nell with outstretched arms and looked at their baby. "You do it, Kurosaki-kun," she said, handing Nell over to Ichigo. He quickly took their baby into his arms and looked at her serene face. He slowly put a finger put up to Nell's mouth, ready to snatch the gikongan out of the gigai. But as his fingertips touched his baby's face, Nell grasped onto her father's finger, inserted it into her mouth, and began sucking on his fingertip like a binky.

Ichigo looked at Orihime, completely heartbroken.

He looked down at his adorable little daughter once again, then back at the exquisite mother. "I can't do it, Inoue," he gently said as he looked at her with pain in his eyes.

"Okay…" she replied as she felt a tingle in her nose. "Let's ask Ochi-sensei."

The two went up to their teacher, Nell still sleeping and sucking on Ichigo's index finger.

"Ochi-sensei," Orihime began. "Can you take the gumball out; we can't bring ourselves to do it."

"Sure," the teacher quickly said, putting her notepad away. She got up, took Nell from Ichigo's arm, and rammed her fingers into Nell's mouth. Ochi-sensei pulled out the gikongan, and Nell reverted back into the simple doll. She handed the gumball to Orihime, tossed the lifeless doll at Ichigo, and sat back down. "Make sure to take the clothes off of the doll before you put it into the basket and go back to your seats."

Ichigo and Orihime stood there completely stunned. Their once beautiful, bouncing baby was now a defunct doll.

Feeling completely empty, they robotically undressed the doll, placed it into the basket, and sat back down. Orihime held onto Nell's clothes, staring at them. She clutched onto them and brought them up to her face when she felt her eyes well up with tears. Ichigo placed a hand on her shoulder as she wiped her tears away. She handed Ichigo the clothes and he put them away with a mournful expression on his face.

Orihime glanced around the classroom. The students who went up before them remained lachrymose as they watched the kiddy movie. She put her head onto her desk and blankly watched as well. Ichigo glanced at Orihime, not knowing what to do. He merely turned away and watched as the other babies became lifeless dolls.

The two watched detachedly as Ochi-sensei packed up her things and wheeled all the parts of the project to the front of the classroom. She turned off the movie and spoke.

"Well, that was much faster than I anticipated," she began, noticing the languor emanating from the class. "So, I say we do the child development class and possibly watch the other video. If we finish, then you are free to go after lunch. What do you think?" she asked the class.

The response she got was a slight murmur. Ochi-sensei thought nothing of it and began teaching the class.

* * *

Orihime gazed outside the window as the movie about safe sex played. She sighed and turned her head back towards the film. She raised an eyebrow, wondering why the video was talking about "swapping shoes" when it was supposed to be discussing that abstinence being the best policy for safe sex.

Bored out of her mind, Orihime propped her head up into the palms of her hands. She puffed up her cheeks and with her fingertips, she squeezed the air out. She unknowingly continued to puff and squeeze the air out of her cheeks until she curiously turned her head to look at Ichigo.

As she glanced in his direction, Orihime took in a deep breath and blew up her cheeks as much as she could. When she noticed Ichigo was looking right at her with a grin on his face, she quickly squeezed her cheeks making her look like a fish. Ichigo smiled even more. Orihime nervously smiled back and then slowly turned to face the front of the class, utterly embarrassed.

The credits for the film began rolling and Ochi-sensei turned the lights back on. She turned off the TV and pushed it into the corner of the room.

"Okay, we finished the movie and most of the lesson, so you are all still free to go after lunch. The other half of the class should be coming soon, so you may talk amongst yourselves as you wait for the lunch bell to ring." Shortly after the teacher spoke, the classroom door slid open and the students filed into the classroom with their babies, making the other half of the class depressed.

Orihime bit her lip and turned to Ichigo. "I miss Nell-chan already, Kurosaki-kun."

"I know. I actually do too."

"_Even I miss that little booger,"_ his inner hollow added. Ichigo chuckled slightly. "The hollow misses her too," he said, attempting to comfort Orihime. She smiled a little. "Really? That's kind of funny!" she said as the lunch bell rang.

Ichigo quickly looked at the front of the class. Tatsuki stood up and made her way over to the two fast. Before she could reach them, Ichigo turned back towards Orihime.

"H-hey Inoue?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think you can meet me on the roof around the end of lunch?" he quickly asked. She looked surprised. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Orihime cocked her head to the side and smiled. "Sure!" she replied as Tatsuki came by.

"Oi, Orihime! Ready for lunch?" their raven-haired friend asked. "I think we should all eat inside today, it's really windy outside," she said as Ichigo got up and left the classroom.

"Okay," Orihime replied as she picked up her lunch and walked with Tatsuki over to their friends who formed their five desks into a tiny circle. They sat down and unpacked their lunch.

"So who do you think had the weirdest looking baby?" one of their friends joked as they ate.

"Oh! That's an easy one! Ryo and Mizuro's baby looked the funniest!" Chizuru chimed.

"What?!" Ryo angrily said.

"No way," Tatsuki said with her sandwich dangling from her mouth.

"If anything, her baby was the cutest!" Orihime exclaimed.

"Yeah! She was so cute with her black hair and pale skin. Why would you think she looked the weirdest, Chizuru?" Michiru asked.

"Ryo's baby looked weird because it had such light colored eyes even though both the parents had dark colored ones!" Chizuru replied.

Tatsuki nodded as she munched on her lunch. "That's true," she said with her mouth half-full.

"Yeah, Hinata-chan did look a bit strange because of that," Michiru added. "But, my baby was probably the weirdest looking one…"

Tatsuki nodded once again as she inhaled the rest of her sandwich. She chewed quickly and swallowed hard. "That's probably because of Sado's Mexican heritage. Your baby had his huge lips and thick, curly hair. To be honest, it didn't look much like you," she said as she wiped away the crumbs on her face.

"Why are you in such a hurry, Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime asked, finishing her lunch as well.

"I have to meet Ishida around the end of lunch. So I got to go now," she replied as she quickly stood up. "I'll see you guys later!" Tatsuki said as she walked out of the classroom.

Orihime's head perked up.

"That's right!" she said loudly. "I've got to go too! Bye!"

And off she went to meet Ichigo, leaving behind her curious friends. Orihime practically ran up the stairs to the roof, wondering why Ichigo wanted to talk to her. She reached the door and fixed her shirt and skirt which had ridden up as she climbed the staircase. She reached for the handled and attempted to slowly open the door.

Immediately, the door flung open while Orihime's hair and skirt flared about. She clutched onto the bottom of her skirt as the wind blew, searching through her thick hair for Ichigo. She found him leaning against the fence at the edge of the building and slowly made her way over to him. As she approached, the wind gradually died down much to her relief.

Ichigo stood up and waved as she came towards him.

"Um, h-here. This is for you," he nervously said, handing her a rectangular box. She took the box and curiously examined it.

"Ichigo?" she asked.

"Y-yeah?" he responded, surprised that she called him by his first name. Heat rose into his cheeks.

"Ichigo daifuku? What's the mochi for, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, oblivious to the fact she accidentally said his name.

"Oh, I thought you might get sad today, so I bought it for you this morning," he said feeling a bit embarrassed. "But, if you don't like the strawberries inside, I'll take it back." Ichigo reached for the box, but Orihime clutched onto it.

"No, I love strawberries!" she exclaimed, holding the mochi to her chest. She smiled and shyly held the box behind her back with both arms. "Was this what you wanted to talk about, Kurosaki-kun?"

"N-no actually." Ichigo felt a knot form inside his chest and he scratched the back of his head. "I wanted to apologize about… _before,_" he said as he brought his arms to his sides and ashamedly looked at Orihime.

"I-It's okay, Kurosaki-kun," she replied softly, unable to look into his eyes.

"No it's not," he sternly said. "I'm sorry that I ruined our day together and letting myself go that far. I should have stopped us sooner or not let it happen at all." He felt the winds pick up a bit. "I know I said that I didn't know if I loved you. But last night, I realized something…"

Orihime's head jerked up. She looked at Ichigo, heart racing at what he was going to say, not knowing if it was good or bad.

"I figured out that I-I-I…" he tried to sputter the three simple words. "I…I…" Ichigo's stuttering worsened as heat raised into his cheeks, turning them a deep red hue.

Orihime's eyes widened, waiting for Ichigo to say what she wanted to hear most. But suddenly, a strong gust of wind cut Ichigo's confession short. Orihime shrieked as her skirt flew up and her hair lashed around once again. She clutched at the hem of her skirt, thinking _"Why now?"_ She furrowed her eyebrows and pouted as Ichigo amusedly watched.

Feeling like himself again, Ichigo reached out and skillfully tucked one side of hair behind her ear. She looked up at him, surprised at the contact. A tint of pink crept onto her cheeks as Ichigo successfully captured the rest of her unruly hair. He wrapped a hand behind her head and pulled her hair over her left shoulder as the winds died down. He held the bunch of her hair in the palm of his hand and placed his free hand into his pocket.

Orihime watched with mouth agape as Ichigo slowly took out a white ribbon.

"Inoue…" he began as he tied the ribbon around her luscious hair. He rubbed his rose, embarrassed at what he was about to say. Her heart skipped a beat as he looked into her eyes. He opened his mouth, about to say what she longed to hear. But she didn't need to hear it.

She already knew.

"I love you, too." Orihime said before Ichigo could even confess. And she didn't care. His actions spoke much louder than his words ever could. She stood with arms behind her back and cocked her head to the side as she smiled, her eyes watering slightly.

Her smile took his breath away.

He stepped forward, gently grasping onto her shoulders, as he pulled her into an embrace. His body warmed up from head to toe as he held onto her. A smile crept onto his forever frowning face as Orihime's arms wrapped around him as well. They held onto each other, Orihime still holding onto the box of mochi. They slowly pulled away from their embrace, both of them with their cheeks flushed, and shyly smiled at one another.

Ichigo lightly grasped onto her arms once again and leaned in. Orihime nervously scrunched her face and brought the box of mochi up to her chin. She covered her lips from what was to come out of shyness, but quickly uncovered them. With eyes closed, Orihime anticipated the feeling on her lips.

Instead, she felt a peck on her forehead.

She looked up, surprised at the small peck, and saw Ichigo's grinning face. He let go of his grasp on her arms and placed them into his pockets. With cheeks still flushed, Ichigo looked at the fervent Orihime.

"Let's go slow this time?" he softly asked.

She merely nodded, biting down on her lip. The two looked back towards the school as the bell signaled the end of lunch. The two happily walked towards the staircase, eating the mochi along the way. Once they reached the stairwell, Orihime held the door open for Ichigo.

"After you, Kurosaki-kun!" she cheerfully said.

He reluctantly walked through, feeling a bit awkward that she held the door for him. Ichigo walked ahead of Orihime down the stairs with his hands in his pockets. He suddenly stopped on one of the steps and turned to look up at Orihime.

"Hey, Inoue?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you." Ichigo said with a tinge of pink on his cheeks.

She stared at him and smiled.

"I know that already, silly," she said as she stepped down towards him.

He rubbed the back of his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I know, but I thought I should say it. You know I'm not good with this type of stuff…" he said as they walked side-by-side.

"I know," Orihime replied. "That's what I like about you," she shyly said as she boldly snaked her hand into his.

They smiled at each other, and the two walked to class to retrieve their belongings as the new, comely couple.

.x. THE END .x.

* * *

So was the ending to your liking? :3 Sad to see that it's finally done? Not me, I'm ecstatic! This is the first story I've ever completed! Well, actually I plan on making an epilouge so you can see Urahara and Yoruichi's baby. It's going to be a cutie!

* * *

"_Hey Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue Orihime called out to her significant other as they cooked dinner later that evening. _

"_Hmm?"_

"_How come you were able to tie my hair up so nicely?"_

_Ichigo averted his eyes from his girlfriend. "Yuzu used to make me play dress up…"_

_

* * *

_

Just a funny little tid-bit for all of you. xD Ehhh... show me some love?


	8. Chapter 58: Epilogue, pt 1

Hey everyone! I know it seems like I died and so did the story, but truthfully I've been slowly working on it... very slowly. But I've kind of lost the motivation to write since I've been super busy with school and my new job... growing up interferes so much with my true loves. xD But I decided to post up what I already have written since it seems like a good teaser for you guys or something. That and I've been nominated for "Most Creative" for the IchiHime Awards and wanted to make this story come alive again. I've also decided to break up the epilogue into three parts: this "teaser," then at Urahara's shop, and then in Soul Society.... maybe. I'll just play it by ear. =P

And honestly, I didn't have a clue on how the hell they were supposed to be graded on the baby project. I kind of made up a bunch of crap, but here's my logic. When they put the gigai into the crib and the teacher pushes that one button, the crib resonates with the gikongan and all of the information and interaction that has occurred during the month is recorded. Thusly, the paper comes out of the printer and there you have it! I dunno… does that work? Eh…

But, I'm sad that no one saw the other Naruto reference in the last chapter. I suppose it's because you all liked the ending? :3 Yes…? No…? 10 points to whoever points it out! =P

Enjoy my duckies~ but another thing! I haven't edited this chapter at all, so if there's anything I need to change, point it out. Thanks! I'll edit it later... while I'm at work. xD

**_EDIT:_** Hey there everyone! I still haevn't edited this yet since people stare at me at work... o.O But anyways, I'm at work right now and I finally have some extra time so I figured that I would just answer a couple questions or something. xD People have been asking why I've been calling the epilogue "Chapter 52." Well, the chapter numbers were supposed to correspond to the week number after the project started... granted Chapter 7: Morning of Mournings was week 6 as well... DX so anyways... since it's a year later from the beginning of the project.. it's 58 weeks, AKA Chapter 58! Woot, there's my awesome logic at play. :D (Forgive me if I'm a bit wishy-washy right now... I'm working from 8-1 and 3-8... sure I get a 2 hour break in between, but that's my lunch and driving time to the second job. D: ) And another thing... I'll mention it at the bottom since this is getting a bit long and I don't want to spoil anything...

_Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I merely borrow the characters for your and my entertainment. _

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**364 Days Later- Friday- March 13th**

"So how long will you be gone this time?"

"About a week. I wish I could stay and play with you, but I can't..."

The raven-haired karate champion frowned. She hated it when her best friend crossed over to the other side, but she knew it was necessary. "A week, huh?" she asked with a lopsided smile. At least she could feel Orihime's presence when she leaves, not like _that_ time...

Orihime looked at her best friend's sullen expression.

"Don't be sad, Tatsuki-chan. Ishida-kun will still be here for tomorrow!" she teased slightly in an attempt to cheer her up.

"Yeah yeah yeah, but you take care of yourself this time. If you get hurt, heal yourself or let them heal you. Don't come back unless you're in tip-top shape. No more cuts, bruises, or broken bones! You got that Orihime?" Tatsuki instructed as she opened the front door for her stubborn friend.

"Yes, mother." Orihime mockingly joked.

"See you," Tatsuki said as they walked through the door.

"Bye~"

Orihime waved goodbye as she carried her tiny duffle bag. She walked down the desolate street, stopped in front of a familiar home, and casually walked down the stone pathway reaching the front door. As soon as she lightly knocked, the door flung open. Blocking the entryway, Ichigo and Chad stood with their backpacks in hand. It looked like they were ready to leave.

"Inoue," Ichigo quickly said as he slung his bag over his shoulder," let's hurry up and go before my da-"

Before he could finish his sentence and walk out the door, Isshin came running down the stairs, kicking Ichigo aside.

"Orihime-chan! " Ichigo's father exclaimed, grabbing his son's girlfriend by the shoulders and tightly hugging her, much to Ichigo's annoyance. As Ichigo clamped a hand onto his father's shoulder, Isshin turned and trapped his son into a headlock. "You delinquent son, how dare you make _her_ meet _you_!"

Completely perturbed by his zany father, Ichigo punched his dad in the side. Isshin quickly let his grasp around his son's neck loosen, leaving a serious opening. Ichigo pushed his father off of his back and clutched at his father's face. "You bastard! I was going to meet her at her apartment before we left, but noooo. You're the one who requested that she came here, saying you wanted to talk to us before we left!"

Isshin brought a hand to his already covered face and thought. "Hmm, that's right…"

"That's right?!" Ichigo flung his arms into the air out of frustration and punched his dad in the stomach.

Meanwhile, Orihime and Chad stood idly by in the doorway as the father and son brawled it out.

"So, what are you doing here Sado-kun? Did Kurosaki-san ask for you to come here as well?"

Chad shook his head. "I was checking to see if Karin's here, but she's not. So, I guess I'll meet you guys at the store," their half-Mexican, half-Japanese friend replied as he walked out the door.

"You take care now, and I'll be sure to tell Karin that you stopped by!" Isshin hollered out to Chad as he continued to wrestle with Ichigo.

"What the hell, dad?!" the orange-haired teenager furiously asked while twisting his father's leg in the opposite direction, "You give me hell about Inoue, but you tell Chad to 'take care' even though he's dating your daughter?!"

The two ceased their physical fight and commenced with the verbal warfare.

"Karin's a strong girl, she can take care of herself!" Isshin retorted. "As for you, you had a baby together!" Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I told you it was for a school project!" he said angrily. "Nonetheless, I'm going to have a stern talking to with the both of you!" Isshin replied, pointing at the two. In order to further annoy his son, he took Orihime by the hand and led her into the living room. "Let's have a seat, shall we?" he courteously asked.

Orihime obliged and sat on the couch adjacent to the wall closest to the door. Ichigo quickly followed and plopped right next to Orihime as his dad took a seat across from them. He leaned back, outstretched his arms and rested them against the back of the sofa. The two comfortably sat as Isshin rambled on and on.

They were bored out of their minds. Ichigo ceased listening to his father once he began to speak. He scowled at the ceiling, thinking about tomorrow and his one year anniversary with Orihime. He grinned for a bit, but scrunched his face in wonder as he felt a rolling motion on his arm. Ichigo looked down towards his beloved girlfriend.

Orihime, attempting to listen to Isshin's lecture, began tilting her head for side-to-side out of boredom. She rolled her head across Ichigo's elbow, much to his amusement.

He smirked and bent his arm, trapping Orihime's head between his bicep and forearm. Her eyes widened as he squished her face. Allowing his arm to relax around her shoulders, Ichigo pulled her in towards his chest. She grasped at it, surprised at the sudden movements. He leaned his head in towards her.

"Shouldn't you be paying attention?" he playfully whispered into her ear, the hot air making her blush. She looked up at him with her big, brown eyes and smiled.

"Hey! Are you two even listening to me?!" Isshin yelled, finally noticing that they indeed were not paying any attention to him. Ichigo rubbed his temples with his free hand as he furrowed his eyebrows. His dad was giving him one serious headache…

"No we're not, Dad," Ichigo said out of frustration, "because you give us the same lecture every time we leave!"

"Well, what do you expect me to do, son?!" Isshin replied as he leaned forward to gawk at Ichigo. "The two of you are going on vacation with each other. I'm just trying to be a good parent and take the necessary precautions so we don't have to deal with unexpected… things." His eyes widened, expecting the two to take the hint. Ichigo groaned his headache worsening, but Orihime took initiative to settle things.

"But Kurosaki-san, Sado-kun is coming with us as well so you don't need to worry about that…" she said in an attempt to convince him.

"That is true…" Ichigo's father said as he leaned back into the sofa, stroking his beard at the thought. "But, what if he's just a cover up? Or maybe…" Isshin's eyes widened. "He's your third?!" he exclaimed, clutching at his forehead with both of his hands. "Son, how could you?! Share Orihime-chan with another man…? The least you could have done was asked for your third to be a wom-"

Ichigo quickly got up and socked his father across the jaw. He fumed at his father's assumption, but became completely furious at the thought of sharing Orihime with another man. Ichigo slumped back down onto the couch, smoothly sliding an arm behind Orihime's back and softly resting a hand around her waist as he sat.

"Don't ever say that again," Ichigo ordered.

Isshin held his cheek and pouted, but nodded in agreement. Rarely did Ichigo ever become truly angry at his father's antics. Isshin made a mental note to never mention anything of the sort ever again-

"Besides, if we were going to go on _that_ type of vacation we wouldn't bring anyone along, let alone tell you guys anything about it," Ichigo added.

Isshin grinned.

-but that didn't mean he couldn't push his buttons.

"Like I said though, Chad could just be a cover-up!"

"What about that gorilla?" Karin asked as she walked through the door. Ichigo, already crawling over the coffee table to get a good hold onto his father, stopped dead.

"Oh, hey Karin," Ichigo casually said as continued to strangle his father. Orihime stood up and clutched onto Ichigo's arms in a futile attempt to make him loosen his grip around his father's throat. "Sado-kun dropped by earlier looking for you," she said with a lopsided smile when she finally managed to pull Ichigo off of Isshin.

"Pfft. Whatever," Karin scoffed as she tossed her soccer ball at her dad while he tried to hug her. "That jerk missed my game."

"It was today?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow as he asked. Karin eyed Ichigo as if he were an idiot. "But you said it was next week." His little sister scrunched her eyebrows in thought, but merely shrugged at her error.

"I'll make it up to him when he gets back," she said as she began walking upstairs.

"Ah, Karin-chan! Why not go now? He's at the Urahara Shop," Orihime suggested.

"The Urahara Shop?" Isshin interrupted before his daughter could answer. "Why is he at Urahara's?" he asked, putting on a good show for his oblivious children (and soon-to-be-daughter-in-law.) Ichigo and Orihime looked at each other, wondering what excuse they could give him. Meanwhile, Karin escaped into her room in order to avoid any other interaction with her dad.

"O-oh, he just needed to pick up some things before we left," Orihime said, laughing nervously at the end. Isshin's eyes widened once again.

"What kind of… things?"

"Snacks for the trip there," Ichigo immediately answered as he stood up and grabbed their bags. "Well, see you old man." He and Orihime quickly made their way towards the front door, but Isshin followed.

"Are you sure you guys packed enough?! I mean, look at your tiny bags. You said you'd be gone for a week!"

"We have everything, Kurosaki-san."

"Everything else we need is at the place we'll be staying." Ichigo added.

"And how is that not suspicious?" Isshin hollered through the window as the pair made their way down the street. "Ichigooooooo! ORIHIME-CHAAAAAAN!!!"

* * *

Once they could no longer hear his cries, Ichigo finally began to relax. The two happily walked side-by-side with the wind snipping at their faces. "I like your dad. He always makes me laugh," Orihime said with a smile on her face. Whether it be the cold weather or just the fact she was smiling, Ichigo's cheeks became a little pink and he became thankful for the scarf wrapped around his neck and cheeks. "Uh huh," he said through his scarf.

"I kind of don't want to go to Soul Society this time…" she said as she twiddled her thumbs. She pressed her lips together, puffed up her cheeks, and looked up at Ichigo.

"Want to play hooky?" he asked with a grin on his face.

"We tried that last time, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime said, pouting her lips and swinging her arms as they walked, "and we got caught and they dragged us there anyways."

"I know, but can't hurt to try again. We can go into hiding," he joked.

"But where would we go?" Orihime asked, wide-eyed, taking him seriously.

"We could go to the Vizard's hideout or we can go on a real vacation with each other and try to mask our reiatsu better this time," Ichigo said with a grin on his face as grasped onto his girlfriend's hand which she had been playfully swinging into his backside. "That way, we can celebrate our one year together, alone, and not training in Soul Society."

"I like it!" she said as she interlaced their fingers and rubbed up against his arm while clutching at it with her free hand. Ichigo looked down at the auburn beauty, only to see her looking up at him and smiling even more cutely. She halted him for a brief second, stood on her tippy-toes, and gave him a light peck on the cheek after removing part of his scarf. In that moment, Ichigo's heart stopped and he forgot how to breathe. Heat rose into his cheeks and coursed through his entire body. His palms became sweaty and his heart began to race.

"But, we're still heading towards the Urahara Shop," she said as they began walking again, swinging their interlaced hands.

Even after a year of dating, she could still do that to him. Whenever they were with friends, they were never cutesy-wootsy or cuddly-wuddly. So whenever they were alone… oh man, could she get to him. Just the slightest touch, the slightest look of endearment, and he became a heated mess. Dropping things, stuttering out of embarrassment, and then scowling out of frustration, but even then she would smile and laugh at his frown making him into a mess yet again. And even when they became more _intimate_ he never got this nervous.

"We can take a long detour," he suggested after catching his breath.

It was the little things she did that turned his world upside down.

* * *

So was that satisfying enough...? I sure as hell hope so cuz it may take me a while to finish the rest, but it's a good thing I've got my mojo back... I just need to find the time to finish now. D:

Stay tuned you all for the unveiling of Urahara and Yoruichi's BABY!!! :DDD

_**EDIT:** _Well anyways, I've been getting some comments on how the whole Karin/ Chad thing doesn't sit well with certain people, but to be honest... even though Karin has more "suitors" I can't really see Chad with anyone else. Right? I read a fic that paired him with Matsumoto and I thought that was a strange pairing... then I read a fic that had the Chad and Karin pairing. That made me think... that might actually work! I mean, really... she's pretty much like Ichigo but you know, in girl form, and Chad's Ichigo's best friend... they're only like what...? Three years apart...? That's like me and the "hubbie."

_Eh, show me some love?_


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